Tribal Colleges and Universities are both integral and essential to their communities.
They are often the only postsecondary institutions within some of our Nation's
poorest rural areas. Tribal Colleges and Universities serve a variety of people,
from young adults to senior citizens, American Indians to non-American Indians.
They also provide crucial services and add hope to communities that suffer high
rates of poverty and unemployment.
President Bush recognized the important role Tribal Colleges and Universities
play in American Indian communities and on July 3, 2002, signed Executive Order
13270 on Tribal Colleges and Universities. The Executive Order established the
President's Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities and the White
House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities.
The executive order states, "It is the policy of the Federal Government that
this Nation's commitment to educational excellence and opportunity must extend
as well to the tribal colleges and universities that serve Indian tribes and Alaska
Native entities."
Assuring No American Indian Student is Left Behind
"The President's Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities and
the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities (WHITCU) established
by this order shall ensure that this national policy regarding tribal colleges
is carried out with direct accountability at the highest levels of the Federal
Government."
The advisory board is charged with ensuring that Tribal Colleges and Universities
have full access to federal and private programs and funds that benefit other
higher education institutions. The board will make recommendations to the President
and the Secretary of Education on ways the Federal Government and the private
sector can help Tribal Colleges and Universities strengthen and expand their resources,
programs, facilities, and use of technology.
Tribal Colleges and Universities
There are 32 federally recognized Tribal Colleges and Universities in the United
States. Located mainly in the Midwest and Southwest, Tribal Colleges and Universities
service over 30,000 full- and part-time students. They offer two-year associate
degrees in over 200 disciplines with some providing a bachelor's and master's
degree. They also offer 200 vocational certificate programs.
![Photo of four recent graduates](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090110004532im_/http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/list/whtc/grad_photo.jpg)
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Alaska
Ilisagvik College
Arizona
Dine College
Tohono O'odham Community College
Kansas
Haskell Indian Nations University
Michigan
Bay Mills Community College
Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College
Minnesota
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Leech Lake Tribal College
White Earth Tribal and Community College
Montana
Blackfeet Community College
Chief Dull Knife College
Fort Belknap College
Fort Peck Community College
Little Big Horn College
Salish Kootenai College
Stone Child College |
Nebraska
Nebraska Indian Community College
Little Priest Tribal College
New Mexico
Institute of American Indian Arts
Navajo Technical College
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
North Dakota
Cankdeska Cikana Community College
Fort Berthold Community College
Sitting Bull College
Turtle Mountain Community College
United Tribes Technical College
South Dakota
Oglala Lakota College
Sinte Gleska University
Sisseton Wahpeton Community College
Washington
Northwest Indian College
Wisconsin
College of Menominee Nation
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College |
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![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090110004532im_/http://www.ed.gov/images/pixel.gif) |
![Photo of individuals at Dull Knife College.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090110004532im_/http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/list/whtc/dull_knife.jpg)
"Tribal Colleges and Universities help preserve irreplaceable languages and cultural
traditions. At the same time, of course, they offer a high quality college education
to thousands of students, and provide much needed job training and other means
of economic development in Indian country... All Americans deserve an excellent
education, including those who attend Tribal Colleges and Universities."
President George W. Bush |
WHITCU provides recommendations to the President on ways
the Federal Government can help tribal colleges do the following:
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Strengthen institutional viability by using long-term development,
endowment building, and planning;
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Improve financial management and security by obtaining
private-sector funding and expanding federal education initiatives;
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Develop institutional capacity through the use of new technology;
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Enhance physical infrastructure to facilitate more efficient
operation and effective recruitment; and
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Help implement the No Child Left Behind Act
and meet other high standards of educational achievement.
White House Initiative on
Tribal Colleges and Universities
U.S. Department of Education
1990 K Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 219-7040
Fax: (202) 219-7086
E-mail: whitcu@ed.gov
www.ed.gov/whitcu/
www.NoChildLeftBehind.gov
1.800.USA.LEARN
Photos courtesy of the American Indian
College Fund
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