MERLOT is supported by more than 20 Editorial Boards, each led by an Editor and composed of Associate Editors and Peer Reviewers who are faculty experts in their respective disciplines. These boards form the foundation of MERLOT by ensuring a rigorous peer review process that provides users with reliable information about the quality, pedagogical effectiveness, and ease of use of the learning materials in the collection.
Each Editorial Board is responsible for:
Editorial Board members are nominated by MERLOT System Partners, Campus Partners, or the MERLOT Management Team.
All Editorial Board members are experienced educators who demonstrate:
Here is a complete list of MERLOT editorial boards and associated editors.
Once a material is added, it undergoes an initial editorial review called triage. During triage, the Editor and Editorial Board members:
If the material qualifies, the Editor assigns it to peer reviewers within the discipline for a comprehensive evaluation.
Note: MERLOT members who upload their own learning materials and would like them to be formally peer reviewed can make that request to the Director of Editorial Boards.
The MERLOT Peer Review Process consists of three main stages:
Editorial Boards provide leadership, tools, and training to develop and refine evaluation standards and processes for peer review. Reviews focus on three key areas:
Once selected for peer review, a learning material is assigned to two peer reviewers who independently evaluate the material using the Editorial Board’s review procedures, forms, and evaluation standards.
The Editor or Associate Editor reviews the individual reports and creates an integrated composite review in MERLOT’s internal Workspace.
Beyond formal peer review, MERLOT encourages community feedback through its crowdsourced review features.
These community contributions complement formal peer reviews and provide additional perspectives on a material’s quality and value.
To become a Peer Reviewer for MERLOT, individuals must be an instructor in an institution of higher education and have:
MERLOT has developed an orientation for Peer Reviewers to ensure they become familiar with MERLOT processes and policies about Peer Review. MERLOT Management conducts GRAPE 2.0 (Getting Reviewers Accustomed to the Process of Evaluation) to assist Peer Reviewers.
GRAPE 2.0 is a one-on-one orientation to the MERLOT Peer Review Process and will help familiarize participants with our processes. Participants will:
For information about GRAPE 2.0, contact Cathy Swift.
You can sign up for GRAPE 2.0 here: GRAPE 2.0
As a peer reviewer, I enjoy seeing the latest and greatest Open Education Resources (OER) in MERLOT Health Sciences. Through my service as a peer reviewer, I use the scholarly MERLOT format to review creative works and analyze the quality review criteria. Some OERs I have reviewed were so awesome that I have used them in the courses I teach.
I have been reviewing for ten years and enjoy it as much as ever. Reviewing helps me stay current in my field. I get to explore valuable resources that I might not know about or never seem to have the time to look at otherwise. And I get to network with knowledgeable peers.
I love the MERLOT peer review process because it gives me a delicious opportunity to delve into fascinating and relevant (to me) resources, it provides value to authors and creators, and because it connects me to the community of educators in my discipline and in MERLOT. The critical thinking challenges in the MERLOT review process inform and stretch my perspective on teaching, often prompting insights I would not have happened upon otherwise. And, like my work reviewing for journals, working with MERLOT to review resources absolutely feels like a worthwhile contribution to my profession.
Peer reviewing for MERLOT allows me to see what is out there for OER. I enjoy the chance to find exemplary materials so I can rate them highly, which increases the chance that others will find useful materials they can use for free. Often I have shared materials I come across while reviewing with instructors who might not otherwise have found the resources.
Reviewing for MERLOT means that I am contributing to the enhancement of open educational resources and improving the MERLOT collections. As a reviewer, I help to ensure that the materials in the collection are high-quality, accessible, and beneficial for learners and educators who use them. I am pleased to be part of a global movement that helps to improve access to educational resources worldwide.
Reviewing materials of MERLOT allows me discovering great surprises on how people have developed updated materials which open new opportunities in engineering education. Not only for distance learning but also for blended learning, as a compliment of presential learning. While reviewing you open your mind to new approaches you've never considered before.
The MERLOT Awards Program recognizes outstanding contributions that enhance teaching and learning through MERLOT. The awards are presented annually at the Innovate Conference.
The program honors:
MERLOT presents awards in three primary categories:
| Category | Recognizes | Eligible Recipients |
| Exemplary Online Materials | Outstanding peer-reviewed OER learning resources | Authors & Developers |
| Application of MERLOT | Innovative and impactful use of MERLOT | Individuals, Departments, Institutions, Editorial Boards |
| Service to MERLOT | Leadership, vision, and sustained service | MERLOT Members & Partners |
These awards celebrate exceptional peer-reviewed open educational resources (OERs) contributed to MERLOT and recognize the authors and developers who create them.
The MERLOT Classics Award recognizes one outstanding peer-reviewed learning resource in each discipline.
Past Exemplary Online Material award winners are listed here.
Application of MERLOT awards recognize individuals, departments, institutions, and Editorial Boards that demonstrate leadership and innovation in applying MERLOT resources.
The Innovative Use of MERLOT Award recognizes creative, comprehensive, or novel use of MERLOT materials and services.
Previous winners of the Innovative Use of MERLOT award are listed here.
The Institutional Stewardship Award recognizes institutions that promote and sustain MERLOT at an organizational level.
Eligibility & Criteria
Previous Institutional Stewardship winners are listed here.
The coveted MERLOT House Cup recognizes the Editorial Board that contributes most actively to the MERLOT collection during an academic year.
The MERLOT Rising Star Award recognizes the highest level of contributions (reviews, new materials, learning exercises & bookmarks, comments) among MERLOT Editorial Boards that have 2 to 4 members.
Previous House Cup & Rising Star Editorial Board winners are listed here
Service to MERLOT awards honor members and institutional partners who contribute leadership, time, and service to the MERLOT community.
The Distinguished Service Award is one of MERLOT’s highest honors, recognizing visionary leadership and long-term impact.
Previous Distinguished award winners are listed here.
The MERLOT Peer Reviewers are the heart of the MERLOT community. These dedicated volunteers from universities across the U.S. and around the world support the MERLOT mission through their reviews of over 25 different types of open educational resources (OERs).
The Peer Reviewer Extraordinaire Award recognizes extraordinary dedication to MERLOT’s peer review process and OER collection.
Within one calendar year, the recipient must:
Contribute 10 or more new OER learning materials to the MERLOT collection
Based on documented annual contribution levels
Presented at the annual Innovate Conference
Previous Peer Reviewer Extraordinaire recipients are listed here.
For more information about the peer review process or to request a review of your own materials, please contact:
Director of Editorial Boards, MERLOT