Yavapai College is one of 15 OERizona schools sharing the honor

Prescott, Arizona (Oct. 10, 2025) – OERizona Network – an alliance of Arizona colleges and universities committed to improving student access to higher education through open educational resources – has been named a finalist in the 2025 Open Education Awards for Excellence.

“This award is a mechanism for recognizing open education work around the world,” said Yavapai College Director of Academic Initiatives Megan Crossfield, who also serves as OERizona Network Board President. “It will raise awareness of the OERizona Network and build momentum for the movement here in Arizona.” 

Yavapai College is an active force in the fifteen-member OERizona Network, a coalition committed to providing educators and learners access to high-quality learning materials. They achieve this through practices that include Open Educational Resources (OER), a  tool aimed at eliminating high textbook costs by creating curricula from free, openly licensed materials.

In this way and others, the OERizona Network is strategically dismantling educational barriers through access to affordable resources. In 2023-24, OERizona schools saved Arizona students more than $8 million in textbook costs – with over $1.2 million in savings at rural institutions.

The OERizona Network was named a finalist in the Open Education Awards for Excellence’s ‘Open Practices/How We Share’ category. OERizona Network institutions include: Yavapai College, Cochise College, The University of Arizona, Maricopa Community College District, Northland Pioneer College, Northern Arizona University, Arizona Western College, Pima Community College, The University of Arizona Global Campus, Mohave College, Tohono O’Odham Community College, Coconino Community College, Arizona State University, and Central Arizona College.

The Network was originally founded through the Open Maricopa/Maricopa Millions project, and strengthened by Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona initiative, a project funded by a $2 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).

“Yavapai College and the Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona project acted as a catalyst for expanding and growing the Network to include all the rural community colleges and one tribal college.” Crossfield said. “Together, we’re helping break down barriers and expand access to higher education across Arizona and beyond.”

The Open Education Awards for Excellence (OEAwards) is a global organization that has honored outstanding contributions to the Open Education community since 2011. The OEAwards are organized by OEGlobal.

Learn more about Open Education and the OEAwards.

Learn more about OERizona.  

Yavapai College operates seven campuses and centers throughout Yavapai County and offers over one hundred degrees and certificates, four baccalaureate degrees, student and community services, and cultural events and activities. To learn more about YC, visit www.yc.edu.