VitalSource®, a global leader in higher education course materials delivery, announced today its strategic partnership with Open Syllabus, the nonprofit research organization dedicated to building a global archive of curricular information and data-driven tools for teaching and learning.
Through this collaboration, VitalSource will provide technical development support to Open Syllabus to accelerate its mission and expand its services for educators, institutions and researchers. VitalSource will also integrate select Open Syllabus data and capabilities, such as the premium version of its Analytics platform, across its course materials ecosystem.
“VitalSource shares the Open Syllabus team’s commitment to transparency, accessibility and educational innovation,” said Joe Karaganis, Director of Open Syllabus. “This strategic partnership provides the support we need to scale our vision while preserving our nonprofit independence and open services. We’re thrilled to partner with a team that understands how valuable curricular data is for shaping effective teaching and learning.”
Open Syllabus will remain an independent nonprofit organization and maintain its mission of supporting curricular research, archiving syllabi and building instructional services. As part of the nonprofit work, select data and tools, including Analytics Lite, will remain available at no cost.
The collaboration between VitalSource and Open Syllabus coincides with Open Syllabus’s largest-ever data expansion, including 28 million syllabi in its Analytics dataset and 9.5 million mapped courses in Course Matcher—now with significantly expanded international coverage and more data on OER adoption. A research dataset of 7.5 million syllabi (2010–2017) is also now available to academic and nonprofit researchers.
“The Open Syllabus team’s work adds a vital layer of visibility and insight into global teaching practices for the higher ed ecosystem,” said Kent Freeman, CEO of VitalSource. “We’re proud to support their mission and help bring their current tools, and future innovations, to even more educators and institutions around the world.”
