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SPECIFICTION
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Open Michigan

open.umich.edu

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Spec score 7.4 #19 of 27 in Open Educational Resource Platforms

What it is

Open Michigan is a University of Michigan initiative for sharing research, teaching and creative work beyond campus. It offers services and expertise in open educational resources, open data and open publications, and lets visitors search for material from within and outside the university for teaching and research. Its collection includes course materials, videos, lectures, student work and other educational resources from U-M faculty, students, staff and partner institutions. Nearly all of its educational resources are openly licensed for reuse under Creative Commons. The initiative can help publish syllabi, courses and learning modules, promote educational resources, and make data publicly available. It describes open data as publicly available for use, reuse and distribution, and open access scholarship as available to read online for free. Open Michigan is a partnership of the University Library and Health Information Technology and Services, and began in 2007. It notes that older resources may not work well with screen readers and many videos lack sufficient captions; remediation is underway. Hosted content published after January 1, 2017 receives accessibility reviews, with a goal of WCAG 2.0 AA compliance.

Spec sheet

Purpose
Open Michigan helps the University of Michigan community share research, teaching, and creative work with people beyond campus.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Audience
Open Michigan encourages scholars and students to share their work and describes its service as supporting the university community, Michigan residents, and the broader public.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Privacy
The privacy page says personally identifiable information is collected only when voluntarily provided, and contact information is not shared outside Open Michigan or its service providers unless legally required.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Support
The site directs visitors to a contact form or [email protected] for accessibility requests and says it will provide an alternate format promptly.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Founded
2007Read 28 Sep 2026 · open.umich.edu
Accessibility
Materials published after January 1, 2017 receive an accessibility review, and Open Michigan strives for WCAG 2.0 AA compliance; it cannot guarantee that referenced content is accessible.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Accessibility review
For hosted content published after January 1, 2017, Open Michigan conducts accessibility reviews and strives for WCAG 2.0 AA compliance.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Collection policy
The OER collection includes teaching and learning materials from U-M faculty, students, staff, and partner institutions.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Find resources
Visitors can search for open content for teaching and research, including resources from within and beyond the University of Michigan community.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
History
The site says the Open Michigan OER initiative began in 2007.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Hosted content limits
Open Michigan says it does not provide permanent accessible service for U-M digital works over an extended period and deposits content in the Deep Blue institutional repository.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Legacy software
OERca, an open-source copyright-review tool developed by Open Michigan, is no longer under development; its code is available to adapt and it runs on Linux-based servers and macOS.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
OER
Open educational resources are teaching and learning materials that are free to use and often licensed for reuse and remixing.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
OER collection
The collection includes course materials, videos, lectures, student work, and other educational resources from the University of Michigan.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Open data
The site directs University of Michigan researchers to Deep Blue Data, a repository for sharing and archiving U-M research data.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Open publications
Open access scholarship is available online to read for free and is often available to use and share without common copyright and licensing restrictions.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Partners
Open Michigan is a partnership of the University Library and Health Information Technology and Services.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Preservation limit
Open Michigan says it does not provide permanent, extended-term service for U-M digital works and deposits content in the university's Deep Blue institutional repository.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Resource discovery
Visitors can search for open content from within and beyond the University of Michigan for use in teaching and research.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Reuse
Nearly all OER in the collection are openly licensed for reuse under Creative Commons.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Scope
It provides expertise and services for open educational resources, open data, and open publications.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Services
The initiative provides expertise and services for open educational resources, open data, and open publications.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Sharing OER
Open Michigan can help publish syllabi, courses, and learning modules in its OER repository.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu
Sharing support
The University offers help publishing and promoting OER and making data publicly available.Read 4 Oct 2026 · open.umich.edu

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Searches open content from within and beyond U-M
  • Nearly all OER are openly licensed for reuse
  • Helps publish syllabi, courses and learning modules
  • Offers services for open data and publications

Limits

  • Many older OER formats are not ideal for screen readers
  • Many videos lack sufficient captioning
  • No permanent extended-term service for hosted digital works

Who it suits

Open Michigan supports U-M scholars and students, Michigan residents and the broader public. It suits people looking for reusable teaching materials, open data or open access scholarship, and university community members seeking help sharing their work.

Verdict

Open Michigan brings resource discovery and publishing support together across educational materials, data and publications. Readers should account for accessibility gaps in older materials and the stated limit on long-term hosting.

Where Specifiction places it

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