WESTERN STATE COLLEGE OF COLORADO

public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Gunnison, Colo., U.S. A liberal arts college, Western State offers bachelor's degree programs. The college is organized into three general areas: Creative and Imaginative Arts; Natural Science, Mathematics and Computer Science; and Human Relationships, including courses in history, sociology, business, education, and technology. The college's setting at 7,700 feet (2,350 m) in the Rocky Mountains provides outdoor study opportunities in biology, geology, and kinesiology and in the interdisciplinary environmental studies program. Total enrollment is approximately 2,500. Colorado State Normal (teacher-training) School opened in 1911. In 1923 it became Western State College of Colorado and began offering bachelor's and master's degrees. In the 1980s it began concentrating on the undergraduate liberal arts program. Student activities include a rodeo, camping, and skiing, and Western State students maintain the only college-based search-and-rescue team in the United States.