Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability
Tohono O’odham Community College (TOCC) has earned the new Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability, becoming one of the first 14 colleges and universities in the nation to receive the designation — and the only Tribal College recognized through the 2025 pilot program.
The new national classification recognizes colleges and universities that demonstrate how sustainability is integrated throughout the institution, including curriculum, research, operations, career preparation, and community engagement. TOCC will retain the classification for six years, through 2033.
About the Classification
The Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability is hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder in partnership with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education. The classification takes a comprehensive approach to sustainability, looking beyond individual projects to examine how sustainability is integrated across an institution.
For TOCC, the designation recognizes the College’s Indigenous approach to sustainability, unique to the others receiving the Sustainability classification. The College, chartered by the Tohono O’odham Nation in 1998, is grounded in the Tohono O’odham Himdag (way of life) from which the College’s curriculum, programs, policies, and institutional practices are formed, developed, and implemented.
What does this recognition mean?
It recognizes how TOCC integrates sustainability across its broader institutional mission, including education, research, operations, and community engagement.
Why is TOCC being recognized now?
TOCC participated in the 2025 pilot, helping test and refine the classification before its broader launch. The 14 pilot institutions that earned the classification are being recognized now because they achieved the classification during the pilot process.
Why are only 14 institutions being announced now?
These 14 institutions participated in the 2025 pilot and are therefore being recognized ahead of the broader 2027 announcement. These institutions will be part of the inaugural cohort, which will also include institutions currently participating in the first full application cycle.
Who administers the classification?
The classification is hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder, working alongside the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education.
What’s next?
The current application cycle is open through Dec. 18, 2026. The 14 pilot institutions will be part of the inaugural cohort, which will be announced in June 2027 alongside institutions participating in the first full classification cycle. Institutions will retain their classification for six years, through 2033.
