Call for nominations: Open Educational Resources Champion Awards

The annual Open Educational Resources (OER) Champion Award nomination process is now open, with the Office of Academic Affairs and the Open CU Initiative Committee accepting submissions via this online form.

The award celebrates four educators – one from each CU campus – who contribute to the open educational movement, increase campus and system awareness of OER, and/or galvanize interest in exploring, adopting and creating OER to benefit University of Colorado students.

The honor includes a one-time cash award of $500 added to the recipient’s monthly salary. 

Open Educational Resources (OER) are “teaching, learning and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others.” (From The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.) OER include digital learning materials such as open textbooks, courses, syllabi, lectures, assignments, quizzes, lab activities, games and simulations. Preference will be given to educators who emphasize the use of open-licensed or public domain materials.

All members of the CU educational community are eligible for the award. Nominations will be reviewed by members of the Open CU Initiative Committee. Selections will be based on criteria such as educational impact and innovation toward a culture of open knowledge sharing and access. 

Nominations will be accepted via this online form through Feb. 9, 2023. Awardees, one from each campus, will be notified by Feb. 16, 2023, and presented with their award, a digital badge and a $500 honorarium.

Awardees who are able to attend will be honored by CU President Todd Saliman and members of the CU OER community at an in-person award event March 10.