Measuring our Impact: the Open.Michigan Initiative

Abstract

The Open.Michigan initiative has been producing and promoting high quality Open Educational Resources (OER) from the University of Michigan (U-M) and its partner institutions since early 2008. As the initiative refines its global education mission, it is imperative that we understand the value the initiative adds to U-M and to the global learning community. In order to ensure sustainability and effective growth, Open.Michigan is currently developing a strategic plan and assembling a set of metrics to evaluate its efforts associated with this plan. These efforts will ensure Open.Michigan continues to adapt to an evolving educational landscape and continues to anticipate the needs of our community members. Over the last three years of Open.Michigan’s operation, it has gathered and analyzed a limited set of data for specific activities and goals. The current evaluation project aims to comprehensively examine the activities of Open.Michigan and determine its overall impact at U-M and in open education. It marks the start of a continual evaluation of Open.Michigan’s activities into the future.