Sterling College is a college in Craftsbury Common, Vermont, known as the smallest accredited four-year college in the country. Sterling is one of seven colleges in the Work College Consortium. The school is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Sterling is one of only two colleges in the United States to offer a Bachelor of Arts degree in Circumpolar Studies. Sterling School was founded in 1958 as a boys' college preparatory school by former Berkshire School faculty member Norman Rioux. The school's educational philosophy was influenced by that of Outward Bound founder Kurt Hahn. The school transition to higher education during the 1970s began with the Academic Short Course in Outdoor Leadership, a 21-day program for 13 to 16 year olds. Faced with closure in 1974, a group of faculty chose to remain and established an academic year-long program similar to Outward Bound programs known as Grassroots Project in Vermont at Sterling Institute.