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Open Educational Resources (OER) at Montana State University

Information on Open Educational Resources (OER) and initiatives at MSU.

Why Open Education

The MSU Library piloted an open education initiative in 2018.  This initiative is now a regular aspect of the quality services that the Library provides to our campus community.Free Sharing Hands Cliparts, Download Free Sharing Hands Cliparts png  images, Free ClipArts on Clipart Library

All our efforts seek to make

  • education more affordable and accessible to our students
  • support student equity, success, and engagement in the classroom
  • encourage the development of diverse and inclusive course materials that reflect the quality standards of our institution as well as the multi-cultural world we live in
  • enable faculty to learn and engage in new forms of scholarship, pedagogy, and communities of practices within our campus, national, and international learning community in open education

Our open education initiative supports the goals in the Library's Strategic Plan as well as its Mission, Vision, and Values.

Learning about OER

We want to affect a culture change across our campus community, helping open education and library services become the new norm in MSU's approach to instruction.  How do we do this?  Through regular opportunities to learn more about and engage with open education.

We provide:

  • Professional development opportunities for faculty, staff, and students
  • A ReDesign Your Course with OER class offered biannually to guide faculty in changing their curriculum.
  • An a growing list of resources through this guide!
  • One-on-one support to help faculty find the right materials for their course
  • Access to peer-reviewed international repositories for textbook publication for our faculty authors
  • And more.

Supporting Open Education

We know that instructors are busy. Your time is valuable, and we appreciate the extra effort it takes to find new course materials and make changes. Our faculty are here to help you find the right resources for your courses.  Reach out to us through any of our Ask the Library options or Schedule a One-on-One Consultation with one of our today.

In addition to personal support, we put our money behind this effort with an Annual Grant Program to help faculty take the time and space they need to change the affordability and quality of their courses. 

2024 Faculty Grants

Previous Grant Awardees:

Brock LaMeres      Shannon Willoughby      Wendy Morrison      Jody Marie Bartz      Nicole Wanago      Mitch Vaterlaus      Deborah Haynes      John Seifert      Mary Miles     Stephanie Keene     Mark Greenwood     Stacie Hancock     Nicole Carnegie    Jade Schmidt     Melinda Yager      Ryan Grady      Travis Peters     William Kleindl     Tony Hartshorn     Alice Running     Kyndra Campbell    Julie Roglie    Noelle Child    Jerry Johnson    Clair Luby    Wendy Morrison    Beth Nelson

Celebrating Open Champions

We recognize and celebrate theExcellence in open education award winner 2023 Veronica Baker graphicwork that goes into changing a class to open or Library materials.  Each year, the Library sponsors an Excellence in Open Education Award as part of Spring Convocation.  Members of our campus community can nominate someone who has impacted education at MSU with their work in open educational resources.

Previous Winners:

Kyndra Campbell (2022)

Stacey Hancock (2021)

Mark Greenwood (2020)