Picture this: You're passionate about becoming a nurse, ready to dedicate your life to helping others heal. Then you see the price tag for your textbooks—$500, $800, sometimes over $1,000 per semester. For many students, this sticker shock can shatter dreams before they even begin.
But Teresa Connolly wasn't about to let money be the reason future nurses never made it to the bedside.
The $170 Solution That's Changing Everything
Dr. Connolly, an Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz College of Nursing, had seen too many students struggle.
"Students may have unwanted stress or anxiety buying books," she explains. "The costs of books—and not being able to buy them—can impede a student's ability to be successful."
So she did something radical: she decided to give knowledge away for free.
Working through Colorado's Open Educational Resources (OER) program, Connolly is creating a completely free online pathophysiology textbook for CU Anschutz Nursing undergraduate students. When it launched this fall, it is expected to save every student between $100-$170 per class—money that can go toward rent, groceries, or simply peace of mind.
Recognition from the Governor's Office
The impact hasn't gone unnoticed. This spring, Connolly and her collaborator, Tyler Dunn, a librarian at Fort Lewis College, received the Outstanding Workforce Z Degree award from Colorado Governor Jared Polis through his Zero-Textbook Cost Challenge.
"This shows the amazing collaboration we have between CU Anschutz Nursing and Fort Lewis College," Connolly says. "We're really trying to make nursing education more attainable, and hopefully this will allow future students to realize they can become a nurse."
More Than Just Free—It's Better
Creating a zero-cost textbook isn't just about saving money. It's about creating something more dynamic and current than traditional textbooks could ever be.
Unlike static printed books that become outdated the moment they're published, Connolly's digital textbook can be updated in real-time as healthcare practices evolve.
"This allows faculty to teach the most current practices and guidance out there," she says. "It's actually a better representation of where we're at when it comes to technology."
The book includes features that would typically cost students extra:
- Interactive quizzes
- Custom-created images
- Links to current articles and videos
- Multimedia content that brings concepts to life
"There are so many ways you can have a student interact with an online textbook," Connolly explains. "The problem is, a lot of times those interactive features cost additional money. With these zero-cost textbooks, students get all this information and guidance for free."
The Ripple Effect Goes Global
Perhaps most remarkably, once Connolly's textbook is complete, its impact extends far beyond Colorado. Anyone, anywhere in the world, can download, use, or even translate the book into different languages.
"People can translate OER, like textbooks, into different languages. That's the spirit of OER because these books are available to anyone," she says.
It's knowledge democratization in action—a single professor's work potentially helping nursing students from Denver to Delhi.
The Hard Work Behind the Free Book
Creating a copyright-compliant, academically rigorous textbook from scratch is no small feat. Connolly treats every fact like a research paper citation, ensuring proper licensing and following copyright law meticulously.
"You can't take information from a published book because it's already copyrighted," she explains. "I treat a zero-cost textbook like an article, where anything I state as fact, I have to reference."
The time investment is substantial, but for Connolly, it's worth every hour spent knowing students won't have to choose between buying textbooks and paying for other necessities.
Looking Ahead: The Dream of a "Z-Degree"
Connolly's pathophysiology book is just the beginning. She's working with other faculty on simulation scenarios and applying for additional funding to potentially transform the entire CU Anschutz Nursing undergraduate program into a "z-degree"—a program where students pay zero dollars for textbooks, ever.
"Many nursing students aren't used to seeing high textbook costs," she says. "Making things accessible to people levels the playing field. It doesn't create a hierarchy in class."
Knowledge Should Be Free
At its core, Connolly's mission reflects a fundamental belief about education and opportunity.
"Knowledge is meant to be shared. It's not something one person should own," she says. "If people can't access that, we can't share or discuss what we're learning or teaching our students."
Her message to prospective nursing students is clear: "We can say nursing education is attainable for everyone, and our books aren't going to cost you."
In a world where education costs continue to soar, professors like Teresa Connolly are proving that sometimes the most revolutionary act is simply giving knowledge away. One free textbook at a time, she's ensuring that financial barriers don't prevent compassionate, capable people from becoming the nurses our communities desperately need.
The free pathophysiology textbook is available for students starting fall 2025. For more information about the CU Nursing Fort Lewis College Collaborative and Open Educational Resources, contact CU Anschutz Nursing.
