USM News and Updates

M.O.S.T. Launches the M.O.S.T. Course Hub to Support OER Curation and Adoption

As part of a first wave of new services, the M.O.S.T. initiative has launched the M.O.S.T. Course Hub to support Maryland faculty in finding easy-to-adopt, high-quality OER.  Explore the M.O.S.T. Course Hub to find curated course materials to replace expensive textbooks in many college courses. These learning resources are openly licensed and fully accessible; include comprehensive learning content; are simple to customize; and allow students to retain copies of course materials forever.

Cliff Kendall, Advisory Board Member for the William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation, Dies at 86

Clifford M. Kendall, former long-time Chair of the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents and Advisory Board member for the Kirwan Center, passed away on March 28, 2018.
 
Kendall’s impact on higher education in Maryland is well known. He dedicated countless hours of service to both the USM Board of Regents and the USM Foundation, and his incredible generosity to his alma mater, the University of Maryland, College Park, and to the Universities at Shady Grove has impacted the lives of countless students.
 

Badging Essential Skills for Transitions (B.E.S.T.)

As a way to help bridge the gap between students’ accomplishments in college and their workplace readiness, the USM Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation is working with institutions within the System to develop digital badges that will help students choose experiences aimed at developing career-ready skills and better communicate what they know and are able to do once they enter the world of work.

Call for Proposals: 2018 M.O.S.T. High-Impact OER Mini-Grants

The Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) initiative, led by the University System of Maryland’s William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation, is .seeking proposals for its 2018 High-impact OER Mini-Grant program to strategically support Maryland public institutions’ efforts to adopt Open Educational Resources (OERs) as a means to greatly reduce textbook costs and address college affordability for students.  Building on the prior success of the M.O.S.T. initiative and the first round of mini-grants, this funding program will target OER adoption in “high impact,” high enrollment courses for which high-quality OER already exists.  Two types of mini-grants will be awarded: 1) Adopt/Adapt OER ($500 - $1,500) and 2) Scaling OER ($1,500 - $2,500).  

Call for Participation: ALT-Placement Project

The Kirwan Center is seeking institutional partners from across Maryland to participate in a Kresge Foundation funded project starting in Spring 2018 that will pilot the efficacy and feasibility of replacing the high-stakes mathematics placement exam process currently in use with a process that empowers students to assess and remediate their mathematics knowledge using adaptive learning tools instead.

Call for Participation: ALT-Placement Project

The Kirwan Center is seeking institutional partners from across Maryland to participate in a Kresge Foundation funded project starting in Spring 2018 that will pilot the efficacy and feasibility of replacing the high-stakes mathematics placement exam process currently in use with a process that empowers students to assess and remediate their mathematics knowledge using adaptive learning tools instead.

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