Prescott College
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

Prescott College announced a transformative curriculum launch emphasizing its long-standing commitment to place-based, collaborative, and regenerative learning. The college is introducing new opportunities for the 2025/26 academic year that reflect the growing demand for innovative, practice-led transformative education and outcomes-focused skills development, aligning with its mission to create a healthy, just, and sustainable world through transdisciplinary, hands-on education.

Deep Commitment to Hands-On, Place-Based Learning: The College will continue its signature approach of integrating academic learning with real-world experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students. For undergrads, Prescott’s service-learning and internship programs will remain a core part of the curriculum, ensuring students gain meaningful, practical experience while contributing to their communities. Across all programs, students will be supported to engage directly with human and more-than-human communities in ways that foster empathy, resilience, and a deep connection to place.

Dedication to Community and Advocacy: The College will continue to create diverse learning environments through distance learning that inspire future leaders to make authentic change in the world. 

Preserving Partnerships and Global Learning Opportunities: Prescott College will also build on its global campuses and network, offering students opportunities for local as well as international fieldwork and cross-cultural learning. Through collaborations with institutions in Kenya, Mexico, Europe, South America, Asia and around the world, students can engage with diverse ecosystems and communities.

A Vision for the Future: Prescott College’s new curriculum positions the institution as a national leader in regenerative learning. By focusing on transdisciplinary and transformative education, the College will continue to inspire future leaders to address complex global challenges with creativity, care, and systems thinking.

https://prescott.edu/prescott-college-announces-revised-curriculum-to-enhance-experiential-learning-opportunities/

In the Fall of 2020, Prescott College developed an AmeriCorps VISTA position to serve as Sustainability Coordinator for the school, which was voiced as the #1 priority for sustainability by students. The VISTA compiled and submitted the first STARS report for the college in over a decade, creating a key data point for sustainability assessment and improvement. At the end of the AmeriCorps term, the Sustainability Council and the Sustainability Coordinator VISTA advocated making the role a permanent staff position. A letter of support was sent from the Sustainability Council to the Senior Leadership Team. In the summer of 2022, the Sustainability Coordinator position became a permanent, full-time staff position. The creation of this ongoing role demonstrates Prescott College's continual commitment to sustainability and social justice improvements on campus and in the broader community.

The Butte Creek Restoration Council (BCRC) was formed back in 1996 to address the degraded ecological conditions of Lower Butte Creek running through campus. The original council and creekside neighbors convinced Prescott City Council to close a section of a nearby road that cut through the streambed. Then, they began restoration work to revitalize the stream while stabilizing the hillslopes through revegetation projects. After many years of dormancy, BCRC revived in 2023 to rekindle active restoration of the creek area. A small group of dedicated faculty and students are working to remove invasive Siberian Elms along Butte Creek, clear out dead brush and twigs, and replant these creek portions with native trees and vegetation. They host engaging work weekends for the college and community to be involved in restoration efforts while being educated in best restoration practices for our bioregion. Local schools, scout troops, and after-school programs have assisted in the restoration of this vital watershed.