Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities in the United States

Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are higher education institutions chartered by one or more tribal nation as an act of tribal sovereignty and self-determination. These institutions grew out of the social and political movements of the 1960s. The first TCU, Navajo Community College (now Dine College), was chartered in 1968. Currently, there are thirty-seven TCUs with seventy-seven campuses across thirteen states, with many campuses located on or near tribal reservations and communities. Overall enrollment across all TCUs is twenty-seven thousand and ranges from one hundred to one thousand within each respective institution. Degree offerings and services are responsive to identified community needs with all TCUs offering two-year degree programs and certificates. Currently, fourteen institutions have expanded several of their degree programs offerings into bachelor’s programs and five TCUs offer a master’s program. Similar to community colleges, TCUs are open admissions institutions. However, TCUs must maintain a majority American Indian/Alaskan Native full-time equivalent student enrollment to remain a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the governing body of TCUs, and continue receiving federal funding. TCUs receive federal funding through the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978 (renamed the Tribally Controlled College and University Assistance Act of 1978), and twenty-nine TCUs became land grant institutions through the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994. TCUs are uniquely distinct higher education institutions whose mission statements and guiding principles embody the cultural knowledge, values, teachings, and histories of their respective tribal nation(s). TCUs’ missions are twofold: (i) to educate tribal members and (ii) to address tribally identified needs and priorities. Leadership and administration manage multiple duties/responsibilities in order to achieve the institution’s mission. Teaching is the priority for TCU faculty, but more faculty are conducting and producing research that is culturally guided and community- and place-based. Faculty have also produced culturally relevant models and frameworks in the spaces of student retention and success and environmental sustainability. Today, TCUs continue to work toward greater impacts within tribal communities and beyond through the development of new culturally-informed degree programs and curriculum, research across disciplines, appropriate collaborations, and American Indian/Alaskan Native student retention and persistence and transfer success at mainstream institutions.

Transition from Tribal College to Four Year University

Native American college stuents face unusual and difficult transitions. This grounded theory study provides an exploration of the issues Native American students face in transferring from tribally controlled colleges to a traditionally white university. Using interview data, findings identified specific transitional phases, including Expectations and Apprehension, Acclimation, Reality, and Adjustment and Discouragement. Specific recommendations for further research are also offered.