Course Design Grants

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As an equity-serving institution, CU Denver has recognized the importance of creating meaningful and equitable learning opportunities for students of all racial and social identities, backgrounds, and levels of access. This is a process that requires time, intention, and material support. These course grants are meant to help faculty grow as inclusive educators and create learning environments that reflect the rich diversity of our students and our community. By embracing inclusive pedagogies, educators foster a sense of belonging and honor student strengths and experiences. This approach also encourages instructors to address structural and historical inequalities that have often marginalized certain groups in education. 

Redesigning courses to be more inclusive could include:

• taking an anti-racist and/or culturally responsive approach; 
• revising course materials to reflect diverse voices and perspectives and ensuring that course content and activities reflect a broad range of experiences and identities; 
• creating flexible and responsive assignments and policies with neurodivergent learners in mind; 
• using UDL to move “beyond accommodation” in a course that offers multiple means of engagement, representation, and action; and/or 
• using a trauma-informed perspective to emphasize safety, empathy, and support in course activities and policies. 

We think about these course designs as a great companion to, or next step after, the Inclusive Pedagogy Academy. As such, we encourage all faculty interested in applying for these course redesign grants to complete our Inclusive Pedagogy Academy, which will provide a strong foundation in Inclusive Pedagogy and, perhaps, spur ideas for larger course-level updates.

Open Educational Practices (OEP) encompass a broad range of strategies aimed at increasing access to educational resources and fostering collaborative, equitable learning environments. These practices can leverage Open Educational Resources (OER), which are freely accessible, openly-licensed materials that can be adapted and shared. By integrating OER into course design, faculty can reduce barriers to learning by providing students with high-quality, responsive, and cost-effective learning materials. OEP also includes open pedagogy, a high-impact approach that empowers students to take a more active role in the creation and dissemination of knowledge. Open pedagogy encourages students to engage with authentic, real-world problems and contribute to public knowledge, often through collaborative projects or contributions to open platforms.

When redesigning courses with OEP in mind, faculty might consider:

• replacing traditional textbooks with customizable OER that align closely with course objectives, allowing for more relevant, inclusive, and timely content;
• incorporating collaborative assignments where students co-create and/or curate course learning materials; and/or 
• integrating open technologies, such as wikis or open-source tools, that can facilitate greater student engagement and ownership of their learning. 

Grants for OEP integration are intended for a substantial redesign of the course to engage with an ‘open’ ethos of teaching and learning (to be inclusive of both content and pedagogy) rather than just replacing a single text, updating a single assignment, or other smaller design changes. 

We encourage all faculty interested in applying for these course redesign grants to review and complete our Open Educational Resources and Practices self-paced course to get a deeper introduction to the subject matter. 

With the public release of Chat GPT in late 2022, generative AI has been a constant area of discussion, concern, and possibility within every conceivable domain, including higher education. Responses to this technology have ranged from fear to uncertainty to unbridled enthusiasm. We recognize both the need/opportunity for students to become familiar with these tools that can position them for success in their careers and the necessity of equity-minded, careful, and intentional integration of these tools into courses, given the heightened possibilities for abuse (data mining, plagiarism, dishonesty, and copyright issues, among others). We know and trust that CU Denver faculty approach this delicate transition toward new technologies with care, integrity, good intentions, and centering the well-being of themselves and students alike.

Course redesigns that integrate AI could include:

• content on AI (e.g. what is AI? How is AI used in this academic or professional discipline?, ethical considerations of AI, etc.); and/or
• activities and assignments that integrate AI (e.g. AI-generated drafts, prompt writing, and leveraging AI as a tool to support reflective practice). 

Grants for AI integration are intended for a substantial redesign of the course related to AI, rather than a single assignment, supplemental materials, syllabus statements, or other smaller interventions/design changes.