About CourseWorks
CourseWorks is a nonprofit network of educators and institutions working together to make high-quality, evidence-based courseware more affordable and accessible.
Created by Carnegie Mellon University’s Open Learning Initiative and Arizona’s State University’s ETX Center
This work grew out of a shared effort to explore what exemplary, research-backed courseware could look like when developed collaboratively rather than in isolation. That foundational work established a nonprofit, cooperative model—grounded in learning science and led by innovative R1 institutions—to expand access to high-quality courseware, reduce cost barriers, and support adoption across diverse institutional contexts as a nonprofit alternative to traditional commercial publishing.
Founding Academic Partners
Why CourseWorks Matters
Sustained Access and Affordability
Institutions need courseware that stays affordable and available over time—not subject to pricing shifts, access restrictions, or removal by commercial publishers.
Research-Driven Instructional Design
Institutions need courseware grounded in learning science and academic research, enabling instructional design that is tested, validated, and refined through ongoing evidence.
Educator-Led Courseware Development
Institutions benefit when courseware is shaped by educators themselves, ensuring instructional decisions reflect teaching practice, shared standards, and long-term academic priorities.
A New Model for Developing Academic Courseware
Most courseware is static, proprietary, and shaped by commercial release cycles, while many low-cost alternatives lack the research depth or long-term support institutions need.
CourseWorks is built differently, using the research-grade Torus platform, and continuously improved as technology and student needs evolved. Its nonprofit, cooperative business model keeps IP ownership and decision-making with the developing academic institutions. Delivering research-backed, high-quality courseware with the reliability and support higher education expects. The result is courseware that can evolve with research, scale responsibly, and remain institutionally controlled over time.
The CourseWorks Ecosystem
Connecting Course Developers
CourseWorks connects academic course developers into a shared ecosystem, giving institutions a single entry point to discover and adopt research-backed courseware—without the need to host or support the courseware themselves.
Browse Our Available Research-Backed Courses & Products
The CourseWorks ecosystem includes courses and products developed by partner institutions, each governed by its originating program while connected through a shared framework for adoption and sustainability.
The Alliance Behind the Ecosystem
CourseWorks is a nonprofit academic alliance built by educators, researchers, and institutions working together to strengthen how courseware is created and sustained. Guided by a desire for effective, affordable resources to improve earning science and shared academic stewardship, the alliance focuses on long-term impact—supporting instructional quality, institutional control, and durable access to high-quality learning materials.
Who CourseWorks Serves
CourseWorks is designed for the people who shape academic courseware decisions and the people who teach with it—supporting both instructional practice and institutional stewardship.
Faculty
Faculty access research-based courseware, cross-institutional collaboration, and learning insights that strengthen course design and student outcomes.
Institutional Administrators
Built for institutional scale, CourseWorks helps leaders align courseware decisions with retention goals, cost sustainability, and long-term academic strategy.
Explore Courses and Engagement Options
See how institutions and educators adopt courses, contribute expertise, and shape how courseware evolves through the CourseWorks Alliance.
