- Details
- By Darren Thompson
DENVER — Overall Native student enrollment dropped in the fall of 2020 according to data collected by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) and the National Student Clearinghouse. Overall student enrollment at tribal colleges and universities (TCU) enrollment is down by 1 percent with an 11 percent drop in freshman enrollment according to AIHEC; the National Student Clearinghouse data show a 23 percent decrease in freshman enrollment among Native students at all colleges and universities throughout the country.
“Our students, their families, and their community cannot afford to take a step backwards in education attainment,” Cheryl Crazy Bull said to Native News Online. “TCUs offer Native students an opportune for an affordable, culturally focused higher education alongside restorative traditional practices to help them and their families through the pandemic.”
Although data show declining numbers among TCUs and Native student enrollment, the decrease in student enrollment is much higher at community colleges with a 9.5 percent drop nationally according to Forbes Magazine. The decrease in enrollment at community colleges is attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with lower income and underrepresented students from marginalized communities.
Undergraduate enrollment at public colleges, the only type of institution that collects racial and ethnic data, declined for all student groupings. However, Native American student enrollment decreased the most with a loss of 12.5 percent according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collects data from nearly 3,600 postsecondary institutions, which represent 97 percent of the nation’s postsecondary enrollments in degree-granting institutions, as of 2018.
“Education institutions, high schools and policymakers will need to work together to help bring back the learners who are struggling during the pandemic and recession,” Doug Shapiro, executive director, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center said to Forbes Magazine.
Native American students interested in attending college who are seeking a scholarship from the American Indian College Fund have an additional incentive to apply this year—the College Fund is offering $20 gift cards for every student that completes an application by April 30 Crazy Bull said. “The incentive is being offered to increase Native student enrollment in at tribal colleges and universities and to encourage students to continue their education goals uninterrupted, despite the pandemic,” she said.
Current Native tribal college students not receiving a College Fund scholarship, current American Indian College Fund scholarship recipients who are re-applying for scholarship funds and are attending tribal colleges, and Native high school students seeking to enroll at a tribal college are all eligible to apply. Eligible applicants must complete their applications online here to qualify for the $20 gift card incentive.
More Stories Like This
Native American High School Graduate Sues School District for Forceful Removal of Sacred Eagle Plume at GraduationLittle Priest Tribal College Awarded a National Science Foundation Grant
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Donates $2.7 million to Sherman Indian High School for Career Pathways Program
New York Public Schools Banned from Using Native American Mascots
Harvard Kennedy School to Expand Work with Native Nations
Native News is free to read.
We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
