A new report from the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCSSE) at the University of Texas at Austin adds to the growing body of research that demonstrates the inherent value and role of Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) within the United States higher education system.
The report titled, “Preserving Culture and Planning for the Future: An Exploration of Student Experiences at Tribal Colleges” provides a snapshot of Native student experiences at TCUs and sheds light on how the institutions’ culture-based mission cultivates an increased sense of belonging, more student engagement and importantly, a deeper understanding of students’ tribal culture and heritage.
TCUs “are truly fascinating institutions and the work they do about keeping culture alive and making the students feel valued for where they come from is simply amazing,” said Dr. Evelyn N. Waiwaiole, executive director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement. “We at other institutions could learn from them about what they’re doing about culture and about what they’re doing about valuing people for where they come from. We can truly learn.”
In the report’s forward, American Indian College Fund president and CEO Dr. Cheryl Crazy Bull highlights TCUs as places “where kinship and history provide roots, where relationship with creation is normal and where identity is respected.”
Many of the nation’s nearly three dozen TCUs exist in remote and rural areas, offering access to education to students largely from more than 250 federally recognized Indian tribes, according to the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.
While more than 14 percent of Native adults have a college degree because of TCUs and increased support for Native students in higher education, gaps persist, Crazy Bull said.
“In order to increase the number of Native students who complete college, more students need support,” Crazy Bull said. “With continued investments from tribal colleges and additional investments from outside the colleges, this gap can be narrowed and more students can succeed.”
