MERLOT has been particularly influential in the development of online education[REF] and has been successful in, "developing a professional evaluation model to promote scholarship of teaching in the universities."[REF][REF]
MERLOT has been influential as a model in the development of other online communities and resource repositories, including innovative collaborations with IBM[REF] and the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (an Educause program),[REF] and as an important tool for educational reform (especially in STEM fields) [REF].