Pruning around college (3)
I believe the answer is:
uni
'college' is the definition.
(short for university)
'pruning around' is the wordplay.
'around' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'UNI' is hidden within 'pruning'.
(Other definitions for uni that I've seen before include "Place of higher education (abbr)" , "educational establishment" , "Third-level college, in short" , "University (abbreviation)" , "Seat of learning" .)