Educational Challenges at Minority Serving Institutions
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Educational Challenges at Minority Serving Institutions

Marybeth Gasman, Andrés Castro Samayoa, William Casey Boland, Paola "Lola" Esmieu, Marybeth Gasman, Andrés Castro Samayoa, William Casey Boland, Paola "Lola" Esmieu

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eBook - ePub

Educational Challenges at Minority Serving Institutions

Marybeth Gasman, Andrés Castro Samayoa, William Casey Boland, Paola "Lola" Esmieu, Marybeth Gasman, Andrés Castro Samayoa, William Casey Boland, Paola "Lola" Esmieu

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About This Book

Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)are responsible for educating 20 percent of the nation's college students and nearly 40 percent of the nation's students of color. This growing group of institutions is essential to higher education and moving toward a more equitable society. This important book focuses on the challenges faced by MSIs within the larger higher education context and provides practical solutions to address these challenges. From performance-based funding, to issues of being dually designated MSIs, to articulation agreements with community colleges, to college readiness, the authors tackle the most important topics in higher education by exploring these varied topics through the lens of MSIs.

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Publisher
Routledge
Year
2017
ISBN
9781351332101
Edition
1

1

Preserving a Tribal Identity

A Different Kind of Diversity

Jessica Fry
In 1968, after centuries of subpar access to education, forced assimilation, and cultural marginalization, Navajo Community College (NCC) was founded as the first tribal college, offering American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN)1 students an opportunity to exercise tribal sovereignty in higher education. But due to continued inequalities, Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) struggle financially to provide for their students and communities. According to Boyer (1995), TCUs must work hard to avoid “extinction” by finding ways to bridge the tribal world with the Western one (p. 9). This would include attracting a wider range of students through expanded curricula and building stronger connections with the larger higher education community. Between 1980 and 2011, the number of minority students enrolling in postsecondary education increased by nearly 300 percent, with the greatest increases amongst Latinos, Asian, and multi-racial populations (Conrad & Gasman, 2015). With these changing demographics of the United States, many Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) have expanded their student outreach in order to remain financially and globally viable (Gasman, 2012). However, there are conflicting views among leaders at various TCUs about intentionally diversifying to include more non-AI/AN students. According to Cheryl Crazy Bull, former President of Northwest Indian College and current President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Indian College Fund (the Fund), there is concern that this would hinder the TCU mission of providing culturally based higher education for AI/AN students (C. Crazy Bull, personal communication, April 21, 2016). This chapter explores the tribal identity of TCUs, and questions if intentionally diversifying their student bodies will compromise their ability to best serve the students they were founded to educate.

Tribal Colleges and Universities: A Brief History

To understand the relevance and mission of TCUs, it is important to recognize the long-term struggle the AI/AN population has experienced in the United States. Dating back to the colonization of America, the higher education system in the United States has failed the AI/AN population (Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, 2015). In 1654, a “college within a college” was founded at Harvard University to educate AI/AN youth, but only two of the 20 students graduated—the other 18 died from sickness, changes in culture (such as food and clothing), or loneliness (Guillory & Ward, 2008, p. 92). By the late 1800s, boarding schools were used to force AI/AN children to acculturate and become more European (Guillory & Ward, 2008). After centuries of political and educational attempts at assimilating AI/AN people into mainstream society, the tribal college movement of the 1960s became a strategy of resistance and renewal as community leaders fought for the federal government to address the educational inequality for AI/AN students. In 1961, a total of only 66 AI/AN students graduated from four-year colleges or universities (Guillory & Ward, 2008).
TCUs originated out of tribal sovereignty—a legal and political status that serves as a treaty between the U.S. government and AI/AN tribes—giving them a right to self-governance, self-determination, and self-education (Guillory & Ward, 2008). Because of this, TCUs play a role in maintaining the wellbeing of the tribes, having been founded “by Indian people for Indian people,” as a way to maintain tribal identity and sovereignty (Guillory & Ward, 2008, p. 99). Since many AI/AN students live on reservations, tribal leaders wanted to provide them with cultural, social, political, economic, and educational opportunities within their communities (Benham, 2003). The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 gave power to tribes and Navajo Community College, now known as Diné College, which was founded as the first official TCU (Conrad & Gasman, 2015).
Located in Southwest Arizona, Diné College was developed as a community- controlled institution on a Navajo reservation. Their early goals included providing Navajo students with solid academic foundations, vocational-technical training programs, adult education courses, and programs for community development (Benham, 2003). Tribal leaders grounded Diné College’s mission in their unique Navajo identity that emphasized the importance of preserving tribal heritage, cooperating with others, and servicing the community (Benham, 2003). The early vision for TCUs by tribal leaders included “preserving the cultural vitality of tribal people—as evidenced by strong tribal identity, social and economic prosperity, and maintaining the integrity of knowledge and practice” (Crazy Bull, 2015, p. 40). Early tribal colleges fought just to survive, holding classes in abandoned houses, trailers, old stores, or any other structure where learning could take place (Guillory & Ward, 2008). In 1973, the first six TCUs founded the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) to provide a central support network for the new and growing institutions (American Indian Higher Education Consortium [AIHEC], n.d.). Today, there are 37 accredited TCUs, which serve 17,000 students in academic programs and an additional 163,000 in job training, high school equivalency classes, and other community programs (American Indian College Fund, n.d.).

MSIs and Expanding Diversity

Similar to other MSIs, TCUs serve a disproportionate number of low-income, first-generation, and historically underserved students (Conrad & Gasman, 2015). Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), for example, were created to educate Black students, who were legally excluded from attending Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) (Conrad & Gasman, 2015). However, TCUs differ from other MSIs in that they are held accountable not only by accreditation agencies and other external sources, but also by tribal elders and leaders (Crazy Bull, 2015). The governing boards of TCUs are comprised of people with political, social, cultural, or familial ties to the community and hold a very specific values-based mission (Crazy Bull, 2015). HBCUs, Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Asian American, Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) are also experiencing financial hardships as more students of color elect to attend mainstream institutions. Unfortunately, students of color have historically experienced lower graduation rates at mainstream institutions than their White peers (Conrad & Gasman, 2015).
Like TCUs, HBCUs originated in order to serve a population that traditional, Westernized education had failed. Many HBCUs have also experienced great financial strain, and many have decided to actively reach out to new populations of students. An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education recently stated that while diversity has always been valued at HBCUs, it has become an “economic imperative today” due to low enrollment rates and financial troubles (Mangan, 2015). HBCUs actively trying to diversify their student body fight to strike the balance of maintaining their mission of serving Black students, while opening the door to new opportunities for growth. According to Gasman, expanding diversity is essential for the survival of HBCUs (as quoted in Mangan, 2015). Gasman says, “[a]dministrators realize there’s no way HBCUs are going to continue unless they engage Latino and Asian students in particular” (Mangan, 2015).
Many first-generation students of color come from families and cultures that value collectivism over individualism. Mangan (2015) states that many Latino students attending HBCUs came from families who were drawn to the fact that “faculty members and coaches [at HBCUs] looked out for students, and advisers understood the needs of students who were the first in their families to attend college.” Like HBCUs, tribal colleges offer unique cultural, social, and educational resources, which may appeal to large numbers of other students, giving institutions a chance to increase their enrollment and overall visibility in the higher education community. The flexibility and accommodation provided at TCUs represents good teaching practices for “both Indian and non-Indians alike” (Boyer, 2005, p. 12). Working to intentionally enroll more AI/AN students, however, is a topic of much debate.

Diversity Within TCUs

As of 2014, TCUs served a student body that was approximately 80 percent AI/AN (Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, 2015). Currently, tribal colleges enroll between 1 percent and 45 percent non-AI/AN students (AIHEC, 2015). Little Big Horn College President, David Yarlott, believes that non-AI/AN students attend TCUs for a variety of reasons, including location, access to quality education, low teacher-student ratios, and low tuition (Lee, 2015). But some TCU presidents have expressed concerns that this makes it challenging to keep their native focus (C. Crazy Bull, personal communication, April 21, 2016).
Crazy Bull believes there are two key components to address when looking at changes to implement for TCUs (personal communication, April 21, 2016). The first is the mission and vision of the college—will this effort further the goal of educating and serving AI/AN students in a culturally relevant way? The second is the financial piece, which is important for TCUs since they have been repeatedly promised federal funding that has never been granted (C. Crazy Bull, personal communication, April 21, 2016; Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, 2015). Right now, actively expanding student diversity falls short on both measures. Since TCUs have a mission-focused identity that is unique to native culture, “there isn’t an incentive … to draw in people from other cultures” (C. Crazy Bull, personal communication, April 21, 2016). And since TCUs receive funding based solely on the head count of AI/AN students, there is no financial reason to enroll more non-AI/AN students. Currently, only three states—Montana, North Dakota, and Arizona—offer TCUs any funding for educating non-AI/AN students (Lee, 2015). Therefore, tribal colleges are paying the costs of educating non-AI/AN students, which requires them to stretch their already meager budgets (Lee, 2015).
But the social-service resources, access to quality higher education, location, and relatively low tuition appeals to many students outside the tribal community. In a recent hearing for the Montana House Education Committee, several non-AI/AN students testified about their positive experiences at various tribal colleges, which was reported in Indian Country Today Media Network. “[Salish Kootenai College] truly cares about each and every student’s success,” said Kayla Johnson, a tribal historical preservation major (Lee, 2015). Another testimony was given by Sarah Green, a single mother attending Aaniiih Nakoda College due to its close proximity to her daughter. Green stated that she had been warmly welcomed at the college, and would recommend it to anyone based on the “quality of instruction and the kindness of faculty and other students” (Lee, 2015).

A Commitment to Community

The core mission of TCUs has always been nation building, which serves the AI/AN community in a way that allows them to remain independent and culturally relevant (Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, 2015). Rather than seeking to “mimic mainstream institutions,” TCUs strive “to reflect and sustain a unique tribal identity” to meet the educational needs of their student body (Guillory, 2013, pp. 97–98). While TCUs were originally designed to serve their communities, they have also come to define them (Barden, 2003). This is done through multiple levels of tribal commitment. The first commitment of TCUs is to serve their local, native community, which tends to be within or near the bounds of reservations (Barden, 2003). These remote areas experience hardships at much greater rates than their neighboring towns and cities. Reservations often experience extremely high rates of substance abuse, physical ailments, teen pregnancy, and unemployment (Rousey & Longie, 2001). While postsecondary education is viewed as a means to move up the socioeconomic ladder, these same conditions often preclude people from enrolling in college or completing a degree once they have entered the higher education system. TCUs fight to combat these problems (Barden, 2003)—a task that requires more than simply offering college-level classes.
Tribes, and thus TCUs, are responsible for providing a broad range of services because very few alternatives are available. Reservations tend to have limited or no access to outside higher education, government services, housing, health care, or business services due to their remote locations (Crazy Bull, 2015). For instance, Fort Yates, North Dakota, which serves as the headquarters for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, is 50 miles from the nearest city in South Dakota with a grocery store or other resources, and 75 miles from the nearest city within the state (Barden, 2003). Few tribal members have the means or ability to make these trips on their own, and some TCUs offer bus services for trips into the city (Rousey & Longie, 2001). As such, the various social-service programs offered at TCUs are not the same as those offered at PWIs because they often serve as the only option for both students and the community.
TCUs serve their regional communities as well, although there are varying degrees to which this is done. Different tribal colleges have worked together to form alliances with other semi-local TCUs. In North Dakota, for example, the regional TCUs formed The North Dakota Association of Tribal Colleges (Barden, 2003). With this initiative, TCUs located within or near the state lines share course offerings and learning centers. Additionally, they work to deliver baccalaureate-level classes so that students can continue their education without having to leave the reservations. TCUs also work with national associations like AIHEC and the Fund, a non-profit organization that provides AI/AN students with scholarships, primarily to attend tribal colleges (Barden, 2003). More recently, TCUs have reached out to international communities, exploring opportunities with tribes in countries such as New Zealand (AIHEC, n.d.; Barden, 2003). Through AIHEC, TCUs are working to support Indigenous people around the globe, pursuing “common goals through higher education” (AIHEC, n.d.). In these ways, TCUs address various cultural, social, and economic problems specific to the AI/AN community.
In 2011, over 15 percent of Native American students enrolled in a four-year college attended a TCU (Conrad & Gasman, 2015). These institutions have remained relatively small, enrolling between approximately 100–2,500 students (Conrad & Gasman, 2015). TCUs work persistently to provide students with both cultural skills—such as native language preservation, arts and crafts, and Indigenous medicine—and Western models of learning that can be applied to the workforce or transferred to a four-year, mainstream institution (Guillory, 2013; Guillory & Ward, 2008). As of 2015, the majority of TCUs are public community colleges, while 14 offer bachelor’s degree programs and five offer master’s degree programs (American Indian College Fund, n.d.).
Most TCUs are located in rural areas, with approximately 20 percent of students traveling more than 50 miles to attend class (American Indian College Fund, n.d.). Partly in response to such a statistic, the number of postsecondary degrees awarded has doubled for the AI/AN population over the past 25 years, due in large part to the fact that TCUs are able to retain many of the students who likely would have left mainstream institutions (Conrad & Gasman, 2015). Still, AI/AN students only account for 1 percent of college students nationwide (American Indian College Fund, n.d.). PWIs graduate a small percentage of these students, who have the highest attrition rates of any other racial or ethnic group in the country (Guardia & Evans, 2008).

Claiming a Tribal Identity

When you know where you come from, you know where you are going.”
—Jennifer Cordova, Northwest Indian College 2
The essential functions of TCUs—responding to community needs, empowering students and communities, preserving and revitalizing native culture and language, and fighting against past and present injustices—are all qualities that help ensure higher completion rates among their students. A major barrier for many AI/AN students attending PWIs is the absence of tribal values. Each tribe is different, and holds unique traditions. For example, at Bay Mills Community College in Michigan, a traditional tribal literature class is only offered during the winter because the sto...

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