Initiatives: Open Educational Resources

Maryland Open Source Textbook Initiative

With the passage of The Textbook Cost Savings Act of 2017, the Maryland General Assembly charged the USM’s Kirwan Center with supporting and scaling the adoption of "openly licensed, fully accessible" instructional materials across Maryland public higher education institutions through the Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) initiative.

M.O.S.T. began in 2013 to provide a statewide opportunity for faculty and institutions to explore the promise of open educational resources (OERs) to reduce students' cost of attendance while maintaining, or perhaps even improving, learning outcomes.  OERs are any openly licensed instructional materials that are also typically available at little or no cost. The term can include textbooks, course readings, and other learning content; simulations, games, and other learning applications; syllabi, quizzes, and assessment tools; and virtually any other material that can be used for instructional purposes.

The M.O.S.T. initiative has saved students over $14.2 million in textbook costs from Spring 2014 through Fall 2020.  Learn more about M.O.S.T. and find resources to support your OER adoption.

Our Work in Open Educational Resources

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September 13, 2019

Colleen McKnight, FCC Director of Library Services, has been named the first Library Fellow for the Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) Commons, a digital library that allows faculty at institutions across the state to share, collaborate, and create Open Education Resources (OER). OER is a form of affordable textbook or learning resource that is openly available for usage and saves students from buying costly textbooks.

June 1, 2019

The Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) Commons is a digital library of open educational resources. We invite Maryland educators to discover, collaborate and create OER resources to improve curriculum. 

April 8, 2019

The Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) initiative is pleased to announce the awardees of the 2019 High-impact OER Mini-Grant Program.  This year, 42 grantees were selected from seventeen 2- and 4-year Maryland public higher education institutions, with a potential impact to approximately 8,000 students in Fall 2019.The High-impact OER Mini-Grant Program is designed to strategically support Maryland public higher education institutions’ efforts to increase access, affordability, and achievement for students through the incorporation of open educational resources (OER) into teaching practice.  The goals of the M.O.S.T. OER Mini-Grant program are to impact student success through:

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