Colorado College is a nationally prominent, very selective, four-year liberal arts college founded in 1874. The 100-acre campus is located in the heart of Colorado Springs near the base of Pikes Peak. Colorado College offers an academic setting and a course of study as varied as its dramatic natural environment. The liberal arts curriculum provides an unsurpassed education for highly motivated students of varied social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds, to prepare them for positions of professional, political, and civic leadership in an increasingly complex, interdependent world. In addition to bachelor's degrees, the college offers a master of arts in teaching degree. One distinguishing feature of Colorado College is the Block Plan. Implemented in 1970, the Block Plan divides the academic year into eight three-and-one-half-week segments or "blocks." Students take and faculty teach one block at a time. (Each block is equivalent to four hours of credit under a semester system.) Students complete eight blocks per academic year. The Block Plan affords several advantages. First, courses do not place competing demands on students, so they are able to give their full attention to each. Professors organize their courses creatively. Seminar discussions, group projects, laboratory research, and field experiences are as frequent as lectures. At Colorado College, the student is an active participant, not a passive recipient, in the learning process.