Woksape Oyate

Historic $17.5 Million Grant from Lilly Endowment to Build Intellectual Capacity at Tribal Colleges

The American Indian College Fund announced a historic grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. in February of 2007. The five-year, $17.5 million grant initiative, named Woksape Oyate, Lakota for "Wisdom of the People," aims to build the intellectual capital of tribal colleges. The initiative will allow tribal colleges to tailor their programs to address their individual needs, while strengthening the entire tribal college system.

Through a multifaceted approach, Woksape Oyate will dramatically enhance recruitment, retention and development of tribal college faculty, staff, and students. Leadership development programs, increased fellowship, and sabbatical opportunities for staff and pipeline programs to bring the best and brightest students back to teach at their tribal college will all be developed during this initiative. Institutional capacity will also be enhanced by creation of development offices and recruitment of highly qualified faculty.

Lilly Endowment is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family J.K. Lilly-Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli-through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. The Endowment is a separate entity from the company devoted to the causes of education, religion and community development. More information about the Endowment can be found at www.lillyendowment.org or contact: dhunt@collegefund.org

Bay Mills Community College

Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) is developing the capabilities of younger college faculty and staff, with particular focus on tribal members, for succession planning at the college. The grant is being used for identified faculty and/or staff to advance their education to the bachelor’s or master’s level or to step into the role as a faculty or administrative leader to remedy the problem that many tribal colleges have of attracting instructors with doctoral degrees. The ability form BMCC to “grow its own” is of tremendous benefit for both the institution and the students BMCC serves.

The grant will also fund BMCC’s academic and college departments to update the critical skills needed in each department and for future leadership roles.

The human resource department has developed a plan and tracking system for staff professional development to prepare the college for the accreditation review process. As part of the program, 11 tribal member employees are working on bachelor or advanced degrees and two tribal members have completed degrees (one at bachelor’s level and one at master’s level), providing inspiration for other tribal members and increasing their competency. Two faculty members are taking coursework required for Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation. A math instructor is taking classes required by the HLC to teach higher level mathematics.

On the institutional level, BMCC established an Institutional Research Board (IRB) and IRB policies for the first time, a tutoring center, and is measuring institutional effectiveness on student learning and retention. Department chairs now track and evaluate the impact of professional development on student learning and retention of both the instructor and the institution. The college has also invested in training more staff members in information technology so data can be broadly shared throughout campus. Administrators at BMCC, after consultation with peer institutions, are using the COMPASS placement test to evaluate college readiness of students for both on-campus and on-line coursework. The COMPASS placement test software can be used to generate reports that evaluate the success of recruitment and retention efforts while increasing institutional capacity that would not have been acquired without the training provided by the Woksape Oyate grant.

Through the Woksape Oyate project, BMCC has discovered alternative ways to teach, provide student services, and operate from day-to-day.

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Blackfeet Community College

Blackfeet Community College (BCC) is using the Woksape Oyate grant funding to establish of a Center of Excellence for preserving the Pikanii (Blackfeet) culture and language. Activities at the center will increase the cultural base of academic programs and provide professional development including Pikanii language learning symposia and a language immersion program. Trained Blackfeet elders will guide the immersion language curriculum, which is open to students, faculty and staff, and the community, with the goal of student recruitment and retention as a result of strengthened cultural programs.

BCC is also implementing study skills and tutoring programs offered by student teaching assistants to increase retention and inspire more students to plan teaching careers at the college, preventing “brain drain” in the community.

The college is also using the grant to fund faculty and staff in upgrading their credentials as a preliminary step in BCC’s plan to develop four-year degree programs. Blackfeet Community College is working with the University of Montana to ensure admission of its faculty and staff on a part-time basis in a cohort interdisciplinary studies program.

To achieve its goals, BCC has implemented a cross-disciplinary College Advisory Team, which includes the president. The College Advisory Team approved professional development funding for seven faculty and staff who are working on their master’s degrees and one staff member who is working on her doctorate degree. Four staff members are working on bachelor’s degrees.

The Center of Excellence has conducted 10 cultural studies seminars and hosted several language immersion opportunities for staff, students and the community. These seminars provided professional development for faculty, served Blackfeet tribal students, increased cultural identity and academic relevance for students and perpetuated the Pikanii/Blackfeet Culture and Language for the community.

The college is also offering instructor-assisted “Study Nights” to increase student learning and interaction with faculty. These supplemental instruction opportunities are increasing student participation in the academic experience outside of the classroom.

The Woksape Oyate grant funding is supporting a rigorous, stimulating and culturally relevant learning environment. As the Center of Excellence expands its offerings, an increasing number of community members are viewing Blackfeet Community College as an accessible and respected source for improving the quality of life through education.

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Cankdeska Cikana Community College

Cankdeska Cikana Community College (CCCC) is expanding its Tribal Administration and Indian Studies programs under the Woksape Oyate project. Teaching and learning the Dakota language and culture are the foundations of these programs, with the goal of perpetuating the culture by providing students with a better understanding of the history, culture, language and governance of the Spirit Lake Dakota Tribe.

In order to develop resources for the new programs, CCCC’s Woksape Oyate funding created a formal alliance called The Dakota Alliance with Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC) and Sisseton Wahpeton College (SWC). The Dakota Alliance has translated a successful international indigenous language immersion curriculum model (Maori) for use in Dakota. Eight Dakota speakers were recorded on CD-ROMs for use in the language classrooms. CCCC is using them as part of a model program that will produce fully competent and fluent Dakota speakers in 36 weeks. The Dakota Alliance’s work is expanding the Dakota Studies Program by increasing the quantity and quality of courses and degrees offered at three tribal colleges, and recognizing course equivalencies accepted cross-institutionally among the three tribal colleges, the individual tribal colleges and state university systems.

The degree program includes classes in Indian studies: literature and language; tribal government and history; and natural resources management. Four new instructors were hired for the program through grant funding. The Dakota Alliance has translated a successful international indigenous language immersion curriculum model (Maori) for use in Dakota. Eight Dakota speakers were recorded on CD-ROMs for use in the language classrooms. CCCC is using them as part of a model program that will produce fully competent and fluent Dakota speakers in 36 weeks.

The project is geared to improve the academic success of students through relevant academic programs and staff professional development. Research shows that Native students with a strong cultural identity are more likely to succeed in their academics. The Dakota Studies faculty members at CCCC are teaching based on the concept of “dual citizenship,” as reality demands that American Indian people live in two worlds. The Woksape Oyate program is helping CCCC teach their students that they posses intellectual capital premised in two world views—as both Dakota and U.S. citizens.

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Chief Dull Knife College

Many Indian nations across the country are experiencing the loss of their language and culture as their elders die, leaving a population that does not speak its language or remember its customs. Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC), serving the Northern Cheyenne people, is remedying that problem through the Woksape Oyate project. It is the only college in the nation that is the repository for the collection, archiving, and publication of Northern Cheyenne history and language.

Chief Dull Knife College is training individuals to teach the Northern Cheyenne language at the elementary, secondary, and college levels by partnering with tribal elders in the instruction process, and applying the pedagogy in a real-life immersion setting for youth. A language instructor was hired for the immersion courses and to collect and integrate the knowledge of existing tribal speakers. These immersion experiences provide Cheyenne children with an opportunity to learn the language in a natural setting outside of school; give prospective Cheyenne language teachers a “student-teaching” experience; and give project personnel an opportunity to assess their effectiveness in teacher education by observing and evaluating student teachers. In addition to tribal college students, among which enrollment is increasing in the language classes, the Cheyenne tribal government enrolled 15 employees in a language class at the college. In addition, 35 elders and 200 students participated in immersion activities, and 40 students from elementary, middle and high school enrolled in each of the two summer sessions.

Enthusiasm for the project is catching, and 14 Cheyenne instructors renewed state teaching credentials through the Cheyenne language workshop at CDKC. In addition, 50 local school teachers participated in a Cheyenne history and culture training, increasing their ability to teach others. And the college provided Cheyenne language and culture training and resources to two local schools and 25 local students. The full-time language instructor will train instructors in pre-school through college language acquisition curriculums and provide additional Northern Cheyenne language courses required for college degree completion. The goal of the project is to train Cheyenne speakers to become Cheyenne teachers and provide language instruction courses at the college and area schools.

From an historical perspective, a researcher was hired for the project and has begun to locate, collect, digitize and create an electronic catalogue of historical documents related to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

The Woksape Oyate project at CDKC is increasing the cultural knowledge of Northern Cheyenne members as well as local teachers. Increases in cultural understanding are improving the abilities of tribal members and others to engage in exchanges about the culture and history of the tribe. Dr. Richard Littlebear, president at the college, says, “Now that Cheyenne people see that fellow Cheyenne can make a decent living as educators, education acquires an importance on a practical basis. When Cheyenne people see Cheyenne educators dealing with white people as equals—as both teachers and policy-makers, the importance of education is enhanced immeasurably. Our steadily increasing enrollments, while not totally attributable to culture-based education, have gotten the message across that tribal college education is a win-win proposition.”

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College of Menominee Nation

The College of Menominee Nation (CMN) is using its Woksape Oyate funding to create a new bachelor’s degree program in public administration to provide graduates with a strong education to work in the governmental, public, or not-for-profit sector with a special emphasis on serving rural communities. The new public administration program will address the needs of a large and growing student population who work for county, tribal government and other tribal entities. The goal is to create a pool of CMN graduates with cutting-edge knowledge and superior skills in the public sector who can provide talent for the college, the surrounding Menominee Nation, the county and state, and preventing brain drain from the area.

The college has developed a public administration associate and baccalaureate degree mission statement and program outcomes. Two faculty members enrolled in Ph.D. programs were hired for the public administration program. In addition, four courses spanning from finance, planning, public administration, and organizational dynamics have completed the curriculum approval process, and student outcomes have been identified for the associate and bachelor’s level programs. Currently five students are enrolled in the public administration associate degree program.

The College of Menominee Nation will maximize the program’s success by developing hybrid and online distance education courses within the public administration program to serve not only its immediate community, but all Wisconsin Indian tribes in its extended service area.

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Diné College

Diné College is developing curricula for a four-year bachelor’s program in Diné Studies and Diné Teacher Education, with the hopes of ultimately building these programs to the master’s and Ph.D. levels, using Woksape Oyate funding.

The program will allow the college to document major aspects of collective tribal wisdom in publications and media that can be shared throughout the Navajo nation; develop five Diné Studies textbooks, multi-media tools; and create a Diné Summer Leadership Institute, monographs and curricular publications.

The college has completed research about the best way to develop these programs, and has identified an existing educational model developed in the 1960’s, called the Corn Stalk Education Philosophy, which was developed as the original foundation of traditional Diné education by the founders of the college. The Navajo Nation Education Committee, Board of Regents and faculty at Diné College have reviewed the model and have offered support for implementing its philosophy as the underpinnings for program development.

To date, the college has contracted with five uniquely qualified cultural experts to contribute to a resource database. Their work will be included in future textbooks and resource materials.

Project activities are being planned that will result in unique culturally specific academic programs to enhance professional development opportunities for faculty, with increased competence, recruitment and retention of students and faculty at Diné College.

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Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) is located in Cloquet, Minnesota. Founded in 1987, it is the only combined tribal college and state community college in the United States. FDLTCC will use its Woksape Oyate funding in efforts to increase retention rates and to lessen the number of American Indian students placed on academic suspension at the end of each term.

FDLTCC’s approach to increase recruitment and retention will identify new strategies, enhance existing processes, and strengthen methods of measuring success. The project aims to improve recruitment and retention of all students, focus specific efforts on the retention of American Indian students, and provide appropriate professional development for faculty and staff to increase their knowledge and skills related to retention.

To date, FDLTCC has contracted a national recruitment consultant and performed an assessment of current communications and procedures. They facilitated a week long, pre-collegiate success camp for 36 American Indian dormitory residents that built confidence and fostered personal relationships among students and staff. In the first weeks of school, students participated in study groups, peer mentoring, and weekly support meetings at the newly dedicated Center for American Indian Support. By week seven, the college was successful in increasing retention, and 29 of the 36 students who participated in the pre-collegiate experience continued enrollment. Faculty members expanded their professional networks at a national conference on recruitment and retention and submitted a report demonstrating increased knowledge of best practices.

Read more about a student member of Fond du Lac’s Center for Academic Achievement Peer Tutoring Program.

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Fort Belknap College

Fort Belknap College (FBC) will build intellectual capital by student recruitment and professional development activities to strengthen the communication and leadership skills of faculty and staff and create an inclusive campus-wide learning community by drawing upon the collective talents, knowledge and experiences of its students, faculty and staff.

Under the Woskape Oyate grant, FBC began to implement a comprehensive institutional outreach and marketing plan. The college hired a director and established an Office of Outreach and Communications (OCC) to promote the college and student enrollment through institutional publications, outreach activities at local schools and community events, and a student newspaper. To date the OCC produced a series of newspaper ads and articles featuring successful FBC graduates; full-color, glossy posters featuring selected graduates; a view book; program brochures; feature news articles; news releases; programming on local public radio; and public relations at events at community gatherings. As a direct result of expanded media coverage, the revitalized pre-GED program enrolled 33 students for fall of 2009, compared to zero in fall 2008. Many of the students will continue on to enroll in college-level classes at FBC.

An institutional assessment plan was implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of the project. Enrollment data from fall 2009 indicates that enhanced outreach and public relations efforts are contributing to increases in student enrollment. From fall 2008 to fall 2009, FBC experienced a 6% increase in total student count–three times the anticipated outcome listed in their original project evaluation plan.

The OCC will also support a series of professional development workshops for faculty and staff covering writing for publication, peer editing, marketing, journalism, radio broadcasting, web design, and desktop publishing. Professional development and tuition support programs for internal promotion of staff and faculty are also supported by the grant. Five staff members received scholarships for master’s degree programs. Another faculty member who was in the final stages of an E. Ed. has committed to completing the program within one year.

Through a mentoring program, FBC is preparing future college leaders from within tribal members/employees.

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Fort Berthold Community College

Fort Berthold Community College’s (FBCC) Woksape Oyate project goal is to strengthen academic programs and support increased student recruitment and retention. The college’s project, Ma’da Aru Caa’wauo Gaxee’ Adish, a Hidatsa phrase meaning “The Place Which Perpetuates Our Way of Living,” creates curriculum resources utilizing Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) cultural concepts for use across the school’s core curriculum.

As part of the program, FBCC also created a student honors program. To date 15 students have received a scholarship to participate in the program to retain the best and the brightest in school, and have conducted research on topics related to tribal history and culture. The new cultural honors program encourages academic excellence among the student body and a focus on cultural research. Research topics include the impact of smallpox on the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara, and the use of innovative methods such as Rosetta Stone software to preserve the Arikara language.

A new student publication titled, “The Student Journal of Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Cultural Perspectives” provides a medium for students to publish research on the tribes to share their discoveries with the community, the wider public, and a broad academic audience. Work is in progress to design a website for online publication of the journal of student research.

Honors students are also taking a leadership role in the community and planned and executed cultural activities with 120 youth from the K-12 schools at a summer camp in 2009. Each student was responsible for several learning strands each day and evening.

Alyce Spotted Bear of FBCC said, “We have a cadre of new Native scholars coming out of (the Wisdom of the People Project) who know how to conduct research. Research and writing is critical in obtaining a master’s degree. The more they learn here, the more prepared they will be for a master’s program. We even have some students talking about getting a doctorate.”

Funding from the Woksape Oyate initiative is positioning FBCC to become the nation’s Center of Excellence in Mandan, Hidasta and Arikara cultural studies. In turn, the MHA cultural resources and curriculum supports the college’s mission of providing cultural-based education and serves as the foundation for FBCC’s goal of developing a four-year bachelor’s degree program in tribal studies.

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Fort Peck Community College

Fort Peck Community College’s (FPCC) Woksape Oyate project seeks to build tribal college leaders under three separate but interdependent areas of professional development, faculty recruitment and retention, student engagement and leadership.

The program funds two staff members each year in their attainment of advanced degrees. Once staff members have completed their degrees and demonstrated qualifications, they are extended the opportunity to join the FPCC faculty. The college is also growing leaders and training them professionally through seminars, workshops and the use of a leadership library.

The college is also providing incentives to students, faculty and staff to work together to enhance the institution’s leadership. Each year five the college is awarding five faculty and staff/student engagement awards to individuals who have strengthened academic programs in innovative and effective ways. FPCC also provides moving and housing incentives to recruit new American Indian faculty, preferably Assiniboine and Sioux Tribal members.

Students and faculty have been engaged this past year through service learning projects, new student orientation activities and clubs offered through the Student Services Department, Student Support Services, Placement Office and Retention Office.

The FPCC Student Senate created a vision for activities that “leave a legacy,” including a project to help students utilize their time effectively, achieve high class attendance, retain students, and help students succeed academically. For a separate project, the college will use matching funds to have the Building Trades students construct an outside study deck.

Members of the FPCC faculty and staff are making great strides in the institutional leadership and professional development component of the program. Two staff members attended the Third Millennium Philanthropy and Leadership Initiative at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. In addition, several faculty and staff members are pursuing or have completed advanced degrees under the program. The Gear-Up Coordinator attended Rocky Mountain College and completed a master’s degree in educational leadership; the Gear-Up Specialist attended Rocky Mountain College and completed a degree in elementary education; the payroll clerk is attending the University of Mary pursuing an MBA, with an expected completion date of 2010; the automotive technology instructor is attending Gonzaga University and pursuing a master’s in business administration with an emphasis in American Indian Entrepreneurship, expecting completion in 2010; and the accounts payable officer is attending the University of Mary and is pursuing a master’s in business administration, expecting completion in 2010. In addition to traditional coursework, faculty and students both attended an on-campus leadership seminar. In addition, the Woksape Oyate project paid for travel and housing expense to recruit the successfully hired new Science Instructor and a new highly-qualified Academic Vice-President.

Students at FPCC are also continuing their leadership training. Two student mentors completed the Bacchus Network Student Mentor Training in Columbus, Ohio; two student senate officers attended the National Indian Education Association Conference in Seattle, Washington; one student senate officer attended the annual Student Congress meeting in Washington, D.C.; and two student mentors attended the Bacchus Network Regional Training in Salt Lake City, Utah and presented on “Traditional Tobacco Use.”

These multi-pronged activities are building the intellectual capabilities of Fort Peck Community College, which is a rural, isolated community college, but which also serves as the center of activities in northeastern Montana communities as well as an economic stimulator to the entire region.

"Home Improvement - Reservation Style" a human interest story from the FPCC cohort

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Haskell Indian Nations University

Haskell Indian Nations University (Haskell) is unique among tribal colleges. Haskell was created as an off-reservation boarding school to serve students from across the nation. Because of this, the strong cultural component that can be found at most other tribal colleges is lacking. Haskell believes that culture is a critical part of the development of a student’s self-confidence, which when increased translates into higher academic achievement.

The Woksape Oyate project is being used at Haskell to strengthen its academic core curriculum by infusing Native ways of knowing in the delivery of its baccalaureate programs. Haskell serves all American Indian tribes, making it important for all perspectives to be included in the curriculum. The goal of the program is to increase Haskell’s ability to attract and retain high-quality students and staff.

During traditional cultural and social activities, Haskell utilizes elders as guest speakers for classes, presentations to the general community, and workshops on traditional knowledge. Haskell incorporates events into professional development activities on campus so that faculty can become more culturally responsive in their teaching and faculty training in traditional peacekeeping methods in the development of academic classroom rubrics. Haskell’s “Native Ways of Knowing” program offered a workshop to faculty that provided strategies for the development of indigenous language courses. And the RED Center website has been launched as a repository and clearinghouse for research by and about indigenous people. The information found on the website will provide a central source for Haskell faculty in developing the cultural components for the curriculum. The web site address is: http://www.haskell.edu/red_center/index.html

Other programs are targeted for faculty, staff, students, and community members alike. An Indigenous Oratory workshop drew 85 participants, including Haskell students, staff and faculty, teachers from the Lawrence Public School District, and students and scholars from the University of Kansas. Traditional elders offered academic strategies to infuse storytelling, indigenous educational aids and Native language into the curriculum. Four faculty and three students received incentives and awards which honor commitment to Native values, such as green energy projects (honoring mother earth), academia (graduate education), and mentorship and service as a role model to youth.

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Institute of American Indian Arts

The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) will utilize funding from the Woksape Oyate initiative to support and enhance its Indigenous Liberal Studies (ILS) degree program. Established in 2006, the ILS program addresses the unique multi-tribal cultural and academic needs of the institution’s art students.

The program goals are to increase students’ knowledge of self and culture using culturally-directed courses such as traditional arts, Native language, Native American history, and upper level courses in indigenous liberal studies. The funding also provides a forum on topics from an indigenous perspective by convening students with Native elders and scholars. The ILS Chair is developing an institutional research policy at IAIA. This policy will be instrumental in future research that will lead to curriculum development for the unique classes offered at IAIA. In addition, the Woksape Oyate program’s focus on intellectual capital has stimulated thinking about how to capture the vast wealth of art expertise within the IAIA faculty. To share its expertise, the ILS is hosting an ongoing Lunchtime Faculty Lecture Series which is open to the public, with expanded access through podcasts that are linked to the IAIA homepage for public and classroom use.

In addition, IAIA established a new business entrepreneurship certificate tract in the ILS degree program to address the need for graduates to have small business entrepreneurial skills to operate their art businesses so that students can bypass brokers, keeping most of their financial gains. The program is comprised of five courses, including Money, Wealth and Personal Finance; Introduction to Financial Accounting; Marketing; Small Business Development; and Entrepreneurship. The certificate can be added to any program of study at IAIA, or can be earned alone by individuals not currently enrolled in another program at IAIA. With the initial release of the program in fall 2009, 45 students enrolled for three classes and one new student is attending IAIA specifically for the business certificate program.

As a result of the establishment of the certificate program, IAIA received a grant for the Johnson Foundation Entrepreneurship Scholarship Program for $20,000 for scholarships for business certificate program students.

First Intern Placed in New IAIA Business Certificate Program

Glenda - Keepers of the Next Generation

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Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College

Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (KBOCC) is located on the L’Anse Indian Reservation on the southern shore of Lake Superior in Upper Peninsula, Michigan. The tribe granted a charter to KBOCC in 1975 and the college operated until 1980 when it temporarily closed. KBOCC reopened in 1998 and became a member of AIHEC in 1999. KBOCC achieved candidacy status for accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission in 2009. The college enrolled 68 students in spring 2010, with 74% being Native American.

Like other small rural colleges, KBOCC finds it difficult to recruit qualified faculty, especially Native faculty. Currently, less than 50% of faculty is American Indian. Being geographically isolated and having severe winter weather further prohibits travel for advanced professional development. The college will use the Woksape Oyate funds to provide support for advanced educational degrees for tribal members, professional development for the board and staff, and to develop a student leadership program that encourages students to prepare for future faculty and leadership roles.

Expanded professional development and student engagement will help fulfill KBOCC’s mission to provide post-secondary education based in Ojibwa culture that supports life-long learning. Accomplishing the programs outcomes will also fulfill some of KBOCC’s requirements for institutional accreditation.

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Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College (LCOOCC) is using its Woksape Oyate grant for strategic professional development to provide a program for administrators, faculty and staff at all levels of academia with opportunities to increase their knowledge and skills related to their roles at the college.

Employees may receive financial assistance to seek advanced degrees, attend conferences and seminars, and join professional organizations. The college’s professional development committee developed the criteria and procedures for professional development funding and to create and monitor professional development plans for full-time employees.

Under the program, eight employees have received tuition supplements for advanced degrees to further their knowledge for their positions. The director of the work-based learning program is working toward a master’s degree in human resource management; the business office accounting assistant is working toward a bachelor’s degree; the assistant to the academic dean is enrolled in a master’s program; and the business instructor is completing a doctoral degree.

Three staff members who received Woksape Oyate funding have used their professional development opportunities as leverage to move from their current positions to more senior positions: the TRIO program assistant earned her bachelor’s degree and then was promoted into the assistant director’s position within that department; the financial aid assistant was promoted to the position of financial aid director; and the assistant to the extension program was hired as the bookstore manager.

Two employees attended workshops designed to enhance their knowledge base for their specific job duties: an adjunct English instructor attended the Split Rock Arts (University of Minnesota) summer writing program and the director of maintenance attended campus safety workshops. This would not have been possible without the Woksape Oyate grant.

There is now the expectation at the college that all professional development will result in knowledge that can improve the entire institution. Those attending professional development programs are sharing their newfound expertise with the rest of the institution at lunchtime presentations to the college at large and are documenting how the knowledge they have gained is being incorporated into their curricula for the upcoming semester.

Capacity Building at LCOOCC

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Leech Lake Tribal College

The Nibwaakaajig Anishinaabeg: Wisdom of the People project at Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) will assist students in attaining proficiency levels in writing and math to increase their chances of succeeding in a four-year college, increase student retention rates and completion rates, and supplement and reinforce classroom instruction.

As part of this goal, the college has established a learning center. A director and five peer tutors were hired to assist students with researching, composing and documentation of essays and reports. The program is so well-received that more than 500 visits per month are being made to the learning center. Another side effect has been that as students participate in tutoring services, library use has increased substantially.

These peer tutors are providing student-led training and discussion sessions, including a “Lunch and Learn” series with topics including “Believe in Yourself: Change Your Inner Conversation” and “Qualities of an Effective Leader.” An unanticipated benefit of students giving public presentations has been the increase in students who now wish to pursue careers in teaching, politics, and other avenues of leadership in their communities.

The college will also host professional development workshops to assist faculty members with developing new skills and enhancing their ability to engage students in the classroom. The project outcomes will strengthen existing academic programs at LLTC, and establish a firm foundation upon which to build new programs. Because of the interest in tutoring from students, a training session on tutoring was conducted for faculty members, with approximately 50% of full-time faculty attending the workshop. In addition, the college hired a part-time professional math instructor to tutor students.

With a Learning Center now in place, the college has been able to focus on developing a strong peer tutoring initiative, establishing a scholarship/ incentives program related to use of the center and strengthening its math and English curriculum.

Peer Tutor at the new Learning Center

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Little Big Horn College

Focusing on three areas, Little Big Horn College’s (LBHC) Woksape Oyate project is furthering the professional development of the college’s administrative team, recruiting and retaining the best talent of the Apsalooke (Crow) Nation at all levels, and strengthening the institution’s academic programs to invest in the intellectual capacity of the future leaders of the college and the reservation. The program goal is to make LBHC the school of choice for the top-tier students of the Apsalooke Nation.

The college created an innovative Student Leadership Program (SLP) to provide scholarships to top-tier Native American students from surrounding area high schools to set an elevated standard of performance at LBHC for students and teachers. Students chosen for the program are mentored by an administrative team or faculty member and attend a professional conference with them. The SLP currently serves a total of 14 students. The Leadership cohorts have an 80% retention rate, which considerably exceeds the college average of 46%. In addition, the students in the program are performing at a high level compared to the overall campus with regard to grades. Five of the six returning students earned a 3.7 GPA or higher during spring semester 2009 (compared to a 2.138 GPA average for all LBHC students).

Student learning includes knowledge of how leadership and Crow culture are closely intertwined, and students completed community service projects. Students also participate in annual leadership retreats that provide an intensive learning community between LBHC administrators and student leaders, giving them valuable experience in public speaking, group analysis of leadership materials and team work. One program outcome was that five of the current students were elected to positions in student government. Enrollment increased 45% in fall of 2009. Students and mentors have attended professional conferences across the country in majors ranging from leadership, business, Native American studies, biology, medicine and technology.

LBHC is recruiting new Native faculty members by identifying and seeking out current tribal members enrolled in graduate degree programs, while also providing professional development for current faculty and staff, including annual leadership seminars, courses and conferences to enhance the qualities needed to successfully administer the college.

Some of the professional development opportunities offered included a reservation-wide leadership seminar, drawing 119 participants, of which 73 were LBHC students, 26 faculty and staff, six tribal college administrators and two tribal college board members, as well as the newly-elected tribal chairman, three tribal administration employees and one tribal administration cabinet head, one area school administrator and seven attendees who identified themselves as community members not employed or attending the college.

To develop other leader roles and prepare for succession, President David Yarlott invited each of the administrative team members to key meetings for tribal college presidents such as the American Indian Higher Education Presidents meetings and the Northwest College Accreditation meetings. By the end of the first two years, all five of the administrative team members serving with the President had attended at least one president’s meeting. An on-site Management Institute was available for the administrative team’s leadership and professional development, and was provided by outside consultants. The Board of Trustees and administrative team participated in training by Cheryl Crazy Bull, President of Northwest Indian College to improve working relationships. A Wisdom Collection was established in the library which includes resources on leadership and management, and is accessible to all.

Administrative team members gained skills in strategic planning, decision-making, leadership styles and management skills. All six of the administrative team members have now participated as co-teachers in four one-credit seminars and are now in their fifth semester of working together to re-design and teach the course each semester, with no turnover in the administrative team during the project and high job satisfaction.

Existing faculty and staff are also pursuing advanced degrees, and recruiting of highly skilled tribal members for staffing was implemented. Two team members who did not have a master’s degree are now in their second year of working towards that goal and will finish in 2010 or 2011. Three tribal members with bachelor’s degrees in science/math fields have been recruited to take teaching/management positions at LBHC.

As part of the training, the college is using the new skills of faculty and staff for institutional long-range planning for the purpose of strengthening academic programs.

Student Leadership Program Success

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Little Priest Tribal College

The overall goal of Woksape Oyate program at Little Priest Tribal College (LPTC) is to enhance the college’s stability as a highly effective post-secondary educational institution. By providing professional development for all levels of faculty, staff, administration, and the board of directors, individuals will be prepared to lead the Ho-Chunk Nation in academic excellence for generations to come.

LPTC conducted a needs assessment, clarified roles and responsibilities of staff and faculty, and assessed committee structure in coordination with its strategic plan, while developing a policy and procedure manual that established a clear, fair, and consistent salary structure which recognizes staff and faculty member’s degree completion. An orientation program is now being offered for new staff, and the college is offering sabbaticals and incentive programs for outstanding performance. Professional development workshops are being offered for board members and staff.

The college has implemented an Individual Development Plan for each employee and established specific professional development goals to raise the level of competence for each staff members. As part of this, the college also developed an employee education incentive structure. Employees enrolled in degree programs are eligible to receive financial incentives per credit hour for completing a course with a grade C or better for undergraduates, a grade B or better for graduate programs and upon degree completion.

Many training programs have been developed and were implemented for both faculty and staff under the grant. They include board and administrative training, which resulted in increased knowledge of board ethics and legal issues and an understanding of board and administrative responsibilities; stress management training to create a productive teaching and working environment; Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) training to ensure that student records are maintained at the highest professional standards to meet both legal and ethical requirements; and cultural awareness training to understand differences between indigenous peoples and increase respect and openness in the learning environment.

In addition to creating a more professional learning environment, leading to student retention, the goal of the program is also to lead to increased job satisfaction and staff retention.

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Navajo Technical College

Navajo Technical College (NTC) has implemented a project to improve faculty credentials and performance to strengthen teaching and learning, establish a formal student leadership program and further the skills and knowledge necessary to augment the Internet to the Hogan Project.

The Internet to the Hogan Project is designed to end the digital divide between the Navajo Nation and populations off the reservation. The Navajo Nation is one of the most impoverished areas of the United States, where mountain ranges, high deserts, and canyon lands make even road access difficult for small, rural communities. The access to technology will provide broadband connectivity to an initial 31 Navajo chapterhouses, community/governmental centers, schools, medical clinics, hospitals, police departments, fire houses and homes.

As part of its faculty credentialing process, with Woksape Oyate program monies, no less than seven faculty members will complete their master’s or doctorate programs. NTC is training two additional faculty members in technology-related curriculum to strengthen the Hogan initiative. And two members of the Board of Directors attended the Association for Community College Trustees conference, where they participated in workshops focusing on a college board’s responsibilities and practices. As a result of that training, the Board of Trustees has recognized the need to build long-term stability through establishing permanently endowed resources, and sent a junior administrator to a fundraising training program at the University of Indiana to promote sustainability for future project phases.

NTC also established a student honors program. Participants were identified for leadership training, including student club and student government officers. Students are given the opportunity to demonstrate their learning by incorporating or sharing their knowledge with their groups, and have been asked to host a campus-wide leadership training event. The project will fund 50 students to participate in conferences and leadership opportunities in the Navajo Nation, regionally or nationally. As part of the project, 10 students will also have received technology training important to the sustainability and operations of the Hogan project.

Honors students have also enjoyed the opportunity to attend multiple annual workshops and participate in business and technology competitions at American Indian Higher Education Student Conference, SkillsUSA, and TeraGrid. The TeraGrid students are building a supercomputing grid for the campus and are engaged in community service learning projects. Eight students and two advisors attended the annual Career Technical Student Organization Fall Leadership Conference, where students participated in workshops on effective meetings, creative problem-solving techniques, stress management and social networking.

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Nebraska Indian Community College

Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC) is using its Woksape Oyate grant to transform existing cultural programs into true Centers of Excellence and strengthen academic programs related to the principal populations served by the college.

To achieve its goals, NICC will hire directors for two Centers of Excellence for the Macy Campus to enhance the Omaha Language and Culture and the Santee campus to enhance the Dakota Language and the Isanti culture. The college is also expanding partnerships with other regional tribal colleges to further develop Dakota language curriculum and teaching methodologies.

A team consisting of the Dakota Center of Excellence director, Nebraska academic standards division head, media director, Dakota language teacher, and academic dean developed curriculum to train language teachers. The Santee Sioux tribe approved the curriculum and provided supplemental funding for a Dakota language instructor to implement the curriculum. The curriculum was then approved by the NICC academic council. A highly qualified fluent instructor who is also a tribal member who is certified by the University of Minnesota Dakota language program was hired. Two courses on language and culture were projected for each semester. In spring 2009, five language and six culture courses were held.

The first cohort of 10 students enrolled in the Dakota language series (13 credit hours). Three students with no former fluency completed coursework on Omaha language and will be certified by the end of 2009 to teach the first two semesters of college-level Omaha language as well as Omaha language for Head Start and grade school.

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Northwest Indian College

Northwest Indian College (NWIC) is using Woksape Oyate funding for professional development and to strengthen academic programs and ensure that learning is grounded in traditional knowledge while employing evidence-based contemporary educational best practices. The goal is to reinforce links between tribal and family expectations, cultural outcomes and NWIC classroom practices, and then publish this vision. This will lead to understanding historic and modern Native experiences and connect the faculty to the students they serve at a deeper level, resulting in higher student retention rates. NWIC will create several models and publications from this program that can be replicated at other tribal colleges and universities.

Faculty is highly involved in all aspects of the project to increase professionalism while improving the college’s offerings. The entire faculty participated in an institutional needs assessment which has led to the development of a unified teaching and learning philosophy founded in high expectations of student academic performance.

A national education expert trained and mentored faculty to develop rubrics as a tool for improving student assessment and teaching outcomes. The approach is now used across all campus departments including Student Services, with the goal of increasing student retention. With Woskape Oyate funding, faculty research grants are being awarded to study and report on evidence-based instructional practices for improved instruction.

A series of faculty development seminars have been designed and several have been implemented to increase instructional and cultural competence of all faculty members and improve student outcomes. Another effort to improve cultural competence has been the development of a teaching and learning toolkit has been completed and distributed to all faculty members. The toolkit incorporates faculty research on teaching methodologies, creating a comprehensive knowledge base on best practices with Native students. And a pre-service wellness training program was held for faculty and student services staff with recommended strategies for identifying and responding to oppression and historical trauma, as these relate to wellness and student performance. As faculty is given more tools to work with, they are also evaluated on how effectively they use them. A more rigorous faculty evaluation process was devised with strong input from across the campus. Instructors are now held to higher expectations from students and evaluated accordingly. Faculty members were required to provide evidence of effectiveness and set goals for improvement through their evaluation process.

As a result of these measures, faculty show an increased ability to speak to culture with a diverse tribal student body, according to a survey conducted in April 2009. As one faculty member said, "I learned to appreciate a more logistic perspective on medicine and science. I learned about my students’ learning styles and what teaching strategies work best in the Native American culture."

Coast Salish Institute Leadership Development Project Returns the Gift

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Oglala Lakota College

Oglala Lakota College (OLC) will develop a Center of Excellence for Lakota language by expanding and sustaining their Lakota Language Institute, upgrading the Lakota Studies and Education Departments, and collaborating with Head Start and K-12 Schools. OLC's project titled “Taniyohila Lakota Woyakakta” (TLW), translated as “Everyone Will Speak Lakota,” will build on and enhance the intellectual capital of the Lakota Oyate in the area of Lakota language through professional development and strengthening academic programs.

TLW will implement a professional development process to ensure that staff members at Oglala Lakota College, OLC Head Start and pilot K-12 schools learn to speak the Lakota language. Concurrently, OLC's Lakota Language Institute will become a repository for the research and study of the Lakota language. The institute will adapt and develop the necessary processes and materials for the infusion of Lakota language into all levels of education and life. Through the combined efforts of the Lakota Studies Department and Education Department, OLC will further develop the academic language programs of the institution. These two departments will collaborate to develop or strengthen certificates and degrees for Lakota language teachers.

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Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College

The Ojibwe language on the Isabella and Saganing reservations and the Greater Mount Pleasant area is in grave danger of extinction. The Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College (SCTC) Ojibwe Language Revitalization Project is strengthening the Native American studies program through the development of a strong, comprehensive Ojibwe language program.

The grant has provided the opportunity to utilize the expertise of faculty and staff to lead and nurture intellectual capital in several areas. The first area is the language and the cultural relevancy of the language across the SCTC campus. The Ojibwe language instructor is a vital part of the Native studies program review for accreditation self-study. This involvement has a direct impact on the development of a comprehensive curriculum for the Ojibwe language program. The Ojibwe language instructor, who will be developing the SCTC master academic plan, is also an active member of the faculty committee.

The academic plan will guide SCTC in developing learning goals and outcomes, as well as provide a framework for the alignment of course, program, and institutional assessment. All of these efforts promote the natural development of the Ojibwe language in the Saginaw Chippewa tribal community.

The language instructor has been hired and participated in the hiring of the tribe’s language revitalization coordinator and other language instructors, while providing support for other SCTC instructors to incorporate Ojibwe language in their courses. The instructor is collaborating with other Ojibwa language instructors in the tribal school and at the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Ziibiwing Cultural Center.

Staff at SCTC is instrumental in developing a community-wide language revitalization committee which is identifying best practice strategies for the retention and revitalization of the Ojibwa language within this tribal community. Curricula and course materials were created for spring 2009 classes, including Ojibwe Language I and an Ojibwe Language Immersion class. The college has seen enrollment and retention is increasing in Ojibwe language courses, and students who completed the language course and demonstrated sufficient proficiency were employed by Saginaw Chippewa Tribe’s toddler language immersion program targeting children 18-36 months old.

In addition, tribal members, including two tribal employees, have enrolled in language programs to better serve the tribe’s social services program. One of these employees reported greater job satisfaction and competence in serving tribal families.

As a result of the program, Ojibwe is spoken on campus with increased frequency by students who have or are currently attending the language courses. This is a great achievement as the grant is only in its second year.

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Salish Kootenai College

Salish Kootenai College (SKC) is utilizing funding to “grow their own” faculty members and increase the experience and skills of their staff, thereby strengthening the foundations of the college.

SKC had difficulty recruiting faculty with advanced degrees because of competition with public and private universities who offer higher salaries and fringe benefits, as well as sabbaticals and other professional development opportunities there. This program will aid in the college’s efforts to recruit and retain qualified faculty and staff members from the surrounding Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes who have roots in the reservation community.

SKC provides scholarships of $5,000 per semester to 12 Native faculty members over the course of the project. These faculty members must commit to five years of service to SKC after graduation. Funding is also being provided for the student services department’s professional development to increase the institutional capacity for student recruitment and retention.

To date, 10 faculty members have been awarded or are in the process of applying for funding for advanced degree programs. Of these, three are enrolled in doctoral programs, four are enrolled in master’s programs, and two are involved in bachelor’s programs. Among the scholarship recipients, four are tribal members or descendants. This program includes faculty and staff from the administration, education, nursing, information technology, human resources, dental assisting, and community health departments.

SCK is implementing a comprehensive mentoring system for Woksape Oyate participants in continuing postsecondary and graduate education, and then assist them as they integrate into new positions and roles. Faculty members with advanced degrees will support faculty and staff who are either contemplating or currently in advanced degree programs. In addition, a cross-disciplinary forum will develop culturally-aligned and community-based pedagogies that are aligned with the learning needs of American Indian students at TCUs. These strategies will be shared at a Montana tribal college symposium, sponsored by SKC, for exchange of academic and technical skills and reinforce the professional integration of Woksape Oyate participants throughout the region.

Professional Development: Niki and Steve

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Sinte Gleska University

At Sinte Gleska University (SGU) funding from the Woksape Oyate initiative will create a Center for Teaching Excellence to demonstrate and impart contemporary and state-of-the-art practices and continual growth. The Center for Teaching Excellence is conceptualized as a major institute of the university to help faculty improve teaching and student learning. The purpose of the center is to create a supportive environment for Sinte Gleska University faculty by encouraging individual inquiry, team learning, and collaboration among all members of the SGU learning community. The goal of this five-year program is to continue to improve the academic preparation of students across the curriculum with increased retention, persistence and completion.

Under the program to date, two onsite workshops by the Collaboration for the Advancement of College Teaching and Learning have received excellent evaluations from faculty. Thirty-five full-time and adjunct faculty members have attended workshops on focus areas such as learning styles, learning cycle, planning lessons to engage all learners, and a practical approach to student persistence and retention.

The sabbatical, master, and doctoral program funding is assisting one faculty member with a Ph.D., and three other instructors have expressed interest in seeking master’s degrees. Numerous faculty members have attended conferences in their area of instructional expertise.

SGU faculty shared information learned through professional development programs at working sessions in the following areas: assessment, curricular mapping, incorporating basic skills into courses (beyond remediation and into active learning), and collaborative teaching strategies. Faculty gatherings and workshops have included other South Dakota tribal colleges.

The center has engaged academic departments and other institutional teams in developing the SGU institutional assessment plan. This process has identified teaching and learning opportunities, provided mentorship, and helped identify and access the intellectual capital of faculty experts.

Academic departments are increasingly collaborating to promote interdepartmental assessment and curriculum integration. For example, business department faculty asked the education department faculty to review business education curricula. The course syllabi for both the associate and bachelor degree programs were rewritten so that the goals, objectives and outcomes of each course build on each other, leading to a more seamless learning experience for students.

As SGU proceeds with activities through the Center for Teaching Excellence, the goal is to provide faculty with a professional development program that engages them as individuals and as department colleagues, promoting opportunities for personal and collaborative inquiry, learning, and instruction that enhances their personal expertise and also leads to increased student capability and confidence. The center has awarded mini-grants for individual faculty and faculty teams to support local research that will aid in improved instructional methodologies. SGU holds consistent discussions about what works for students in terms of teaching and learning experiences, and SGU addresses topics such as student success and failure rates, the community’s perception of programs, student characteristics and how they either positively or negatively impact student persistence and achievement.

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Sisseton Wahpeton College

Sisseton Wahpeton College (SWC) is strengthening its academic programs by hiring an Education Coordinator to develop a bachelor’s degree program in elementary education, with an emphasis on Dakota language and culture. As a result, tribal members will have a wider range of degrees and therefore economic advancement options available on the reservation. The overall impact on the community will be to raise the overall educational level of tribal members and the economic status of the individuals who earn their degrees. It will also allow SWC to increase enrollment and strengthen the capacity of the school and increase the quality of the academic programs offered.

Two required courses for South Dakota teacher licensure were approved by the South Dakota Department of Education and offered at SWC in summer 2009. The courses were well-attended and some students came from more than 50 miles away to specifically participate at the SWC courses. Students included experienced teachers and those with little or no teaching experience, both tribal members and non-Native American. Eight teachers completed the “Human Relations for Educators” course and eleven completed the course in “Teaching Native American Students.”

The program is well on its way. Admission policies were established for the new program. The existing associate of arts elementary education program was redesigned to function as a pipeline to the four-year program upon accreditation. The course plan for the elementary education degree was approved by the SWC curriculum committee and course syllabi were developed in fall 2009. Sisseton Wahpeton College expects to submit its final program plan to the South Dakota Department of Education for approval in December 2009.

The bachelor’s program will require instructors who teach the entry-level classes examine their current curricula and improve it as necessary for the new programs. Not only will the number of students increase, but also as SWC offers more degrees, the community image of Sisseton Wahpeton College and the programs it offers will change for the better. Students will expect higher level classes and community members will recommend SWC as an option for others as they see the successes others have in college.

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Sitting Bull College

Sitting Bull College (SBC) will utilize funding to establish the 7th Generation Academic Excellence Center to enhance the intellectual capital of its students and the future leaders of the Lakota/Dakota people of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The center will focus on developing student's writing, reading and speaking skills. The 7th Generation Academic Excellence center will also collaborate with key community stakeholders to successfully impact the education system on and near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

The 7th Generation Academic Center will work to develop an effective model to teach written and oral communication skills to American Indian students. The center will also develop and disseminate an electronic newsletter of activities, services, and events including student articles and essays to all key stakeholders. In addition, the project will establish a writing lab and a student writing/speech club. Another key component of the program is professional development. Funding will be provided for faculty to participate in professional development sessions and activities. A minimum of two on-site professional development trainings focused on written and oral communication will be held each year.

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Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI), in Albuquerque, New Mexico, began in 1971 and the Higher Learning Commission accredited SIPI in 1975. Its mission is to prepare Native American students to be productive, life-long learners. By 2020, SIPI envisions competitive graduates with a full range of career and transfer opportunities. SIPI believes it will reach these goals through assessment of student learning based on campus-wide participation. Yet, it faces a challenge in developing and successfully implementing a comprehensive, systematic assessment program.

SIPI’s Woksape Oyate project goal is to meet accreditation mandates and improve student learner outcomes through professional development. SIPI wants to develop and institutionalize an assessment program of student achievement and to enhance student learning through continuous, data-driven improvement. SIPI’s assessment program looks at the congruency between program goals and objectives, and its mission statement. Data will improve curricula, teaching methods, and student services. All programs will submit an Annual Assessment Report to publish in the Institutional Research Office Annual Fact Book.

The first objective is to bolster shared governance and thereby support continued accreditation. To this end, the faculty will lead the efforts to create a new “Culture of Assessment.” A revitalized assessment steering committee will create and disseminate an institutional assessment plan. SIPI will train administrators, faculty and staff on assessment strategies, and the use of data and documentation practices. Finally, they will implement, report, and evaluate the assessment plan.

To date, SIPI has appointed three new committees involved in the assessment process the Assessment Steering Committee, the General Education Committee, and the Curriculum Committee that includes all faculty members. It developed a program assessment manual and created a five-year program review process. SIPI also used data to revise its general education curriculum to include new cultural courses.

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Stone Child College

Funding from the Woksape Oyate initiative supports tribal students at Stone Child College (SCC) in becoming faculty members at their institution. Currently, SCC does not employ Chippewa-Cree Tribal members as faculty and has only one full-time Native professor. Within the next five years, 11 faculty members at SCC will retire or move on to other opportunities. By taking the steps to increase the number of Native faculty members who hold advanced degrees, SCC will be able to infuse the institution with a Native viewpoint and epistemology and lay the groundwork for developing four-year programs.

Over the five-year grant period, Stone Child College’s program will allow 11 of their best and brightest students to further their education, with the agreement that these students will return to become faculty members at SCC. In essence, SCC will be growing their own tribal faculty members from a cohort of former and current students. Through financial assistance, mentoring with SCC faculty members, apprenticeships and other retention activities, SCC is ensuring that its cohort will have the necessary skills and support to finish their respective programs and return to the Rocky Boy Reservation to serve as members of SCC faculty. In addition, SCC will actively seek to recruit current tribal members that hold advanced degrees and members that are already in terminal degree programs as faculty members. The President, who is a tribal member, is being assisted in obtaining her Ph.D. through Woksape Oyate funding for leadership development. This will position SCC to move to a four year degree-granting college.

Stone Child College Board of Regents reviewed and selected appropriate students to help them attain their degree and return to help other tribal members. To date nine student candidates are engaged in the program, receiving funding for advanced education and making progress towards their degree. Of the nine participants, four students are working toward their associate’s degrees; three students are working toward their bachelor’s degrees at state universities, and two will complete master’s degrees at the University of Montana in spring 2010. All students have completed summer internships with faculty mentors, focusing on curriculum development, classroom management, research and assessment.

By 2012 almost all of the current students will graduate or be close to graduating with their master’s degree. Two or three should be hired in full-time faculty positions teaching, showing SCC students that it is possible for tribal people to become successful.

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Tohono O'odham Community College

Tohono O’odham Community College (TOCC) is strengthening academic programs and professional development through their project entitled “Wisdom of the Desert.” The project engages high school students in academic preparation for college, incorporates Tohono O’odham Himdag (culture) into education and provides an environment to support student learning and retention.

A project director was hired and contracted with an external evaluator. The project director conducted a survey to evaluate TOCC faculty and staff needs in Himdag (cultural) education.

To begin developing the foundation curricula for the Tohono O’odham studies program, 15 TOCC faculty members attended the University of Arizona’s American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI). The cohort is also participating in intensive comprehensive institutional and student-centered assessment training.

A team of 10 TOCC staff (president and vice president, two faculty and six out of seven members of the board of trustees) also attended the North Central Accreditation and the Higher Learning Consortium (NCA/HLC) training in preparation for the 2010 reaccreditation visit. The team drafted and submitted the self-study to the NCA/HLC accreditation review committee. TOCC Board of Trustees has learned the NCA/HLC process and the expectations of their role in the reaccreditation protocol and in the college in general.

Several members of the faculty attended the Harvard Institute for Higher Education program and developed a comprehensive action plan to further TOCC’s student learning and retention. The participants will present their action plan at the TOCC faculty and staff meeting scheduled in December 2009.

And as a first step to offer programs for students, TOCC offered the “Summer College Bridge Program” for K-12 students with content math, physics, computers, and college study skills.

Capacity Building at TOCC

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Turtle Mountain Community College

Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC) is working to revitalize and integrate community languages in the academic course work of the college. The language revitalization efforts will include the preservation of time critical recordings of elders using the language and providing both the pronunciation and meaning. TMCC employees will be grouped into language nests based on language preference and proficiency level under the guidance of speaker mentors.

Activities include language instruction, social dialogue opportunities, immersion camps and family integration. At the end of the project, it will be expanded to include TMCC students, local schools and tribal organizations.

To date, work has been done to set up the foundation of the program. A half-time project director has been designated; an external evaluator was hired to establish and monitoring quantitative and qualitative project outcomes; a computer lab was established for language instruction and preservation, giving faculty and staff access to language tapes and videos to practice and understand the dynamics of the language.

A consultant presented the “Seven Teachings” cultural framework and assisted faculty to integrate culture and language into all courses.

After attending the Woskape Oyate project meeting, TMCC established a working relationship with Leech Lake Tribal College to work together on the improvement of language classes.

Following the completion of foundation work for the language programs, youth language immersion camps were held in the summer. The student reports showed increased self-identity, pride, and self-esteem created as a result of the program during the week.

TMCC faculty and staff are developing a better understanding of the importance of languages and culture, as well as methods to better integrate the teachings into their classes as a result of the Woksape Oyate grant program.

More about the TMCC language forums

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United Tribes Technical

United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) has strengthened institutional capacity under Woksape Oyate by establishing an office of advanced degree programs (ADP). This office is charged with creating bachelor-level degrees in the areas of business administration, criminal justice and elementary/special education. The ADP office will recruit, train, and retain qualified faculty to teach the upper division coursework, and develop pilot degree programs in preparation for the accreditation review.

American Indians need access to higher education opportunities because of personal aspirations, family socio-economic needs, and workforce and employment trends. Completion of a baccalaureate degree provides opportunities to address each of these needs. UTTC envisions skilled, knowledgeable, culturally-grounded, healthy graduates who will achieve their educational goals; empower their communities; and preserve the environment, tribal land, water, and natural resources.

A director of upper division degree programs, Dr. Iken, was hired in the first year to analyze campus resources, develop baccalaureate level degree programs, and coordinate efforts across the campus.

The director has coordinated a gap analysis of the general education requirements needed to offer bachelor level degree programs and what UTTC currently offers. In addition the director coordinated the development of the general education requirements needed to offer bachelor level degree programs; met with the registrar, general education department chair and North Dakota university system representative to clarify course and institutional requirements for credit transferability to any North Dakota state sponsored college/university; facilitated the development and validation of the elementary/special education bachelor degree plan and required coursework in consultation with the teacher education chair, curriculum committee, Monarch Center, North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, and Sinte Gleska University; and facilitated the development and validation of the business administration bachelor and criminal justice degree plans in consultation with Minot State University. Education and criminal justice curricula are on schedule with an anticipated enrollment in fall 2010.

Curricula have been designed for the baccalaureate degrees in business administration and elementary education. Minot State University offered program development support for the business administration degree. Currently 12 students have enrolled in the business administration program in fall 2009.

The teacher education department is developing three upper division courses which include best practices and data-driven use of effective teaching methodologies.

A gap analysis was conducted of the current support services and what will be required to serve bachelor-level degree seeking students. The analysis revealed necessary changes in policies and procedures for student housing, financial aid and campus activities.

The college has also created a newly created Office of Research. As a result of this project, UTTC developed institutional assessment and learner outcomes, which will guide campus-wide evaluation of institutional effectiveness in baccalaureate level education program development. Procedures have been implemented to allow document-sharing with other TCUs that are considering transitioning from an associate degree-granting institution to that of a bachelor degree-granting institution.

The development of formal procedures on campus to align general education with other institutions while still addressing the unique needs of the students as a tribal college is enhancing the quality of educational opportunities and has built stronger ties with surrounding higher education institutions. The project director is passionate about developing intellectual capital. Dr. Iken states, “This project has an evaluation plan that takes into consideration the overall institutional capacity. Creation of a formal institutional assessment plan provides a feedback loop that enables all employees to adjust or redesign courses, programs or services to better enhance student success. Data generated by assessment documents the work of individual programs, as well as the college as a whole, and provides evidence to the various stakeholders.

The effectiveness of an institution is not captured in what is taught and how, but rather in what students have learned. It is not captured in how much time and money are spent, but in how much new knowledge is generated. It is not captured in the number of hours spent in community outreach, but in the impact of those activities on the community. The institution discovers how effective it is by assessing those outcomes. It is with great hope that by offering students at UTTC an opportunity to obtain a bachelor degree, these individuals may experience self-fulfillment, meet family socio-economic needs and serve other American Indians by entering the workforce in areas where there is a drastic shortage of applicants to fill the positions.”

Finding a Community at 'Tribes'

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White Earth Tribal and Community College

White Earth Tribal and Community College (WETCC) is a fully accredited institution of higher learning located on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Mahnomen, Minnesota. The White Earth Tribal Council chartered the school in 1997 and it was accredited in 1998. The college serves 154 students, 79% of whom are Native American.

WETCC’s mission is “educational excellence through culturally relevant curriculum in partnership with students, staff, community and industry.” Its curriculum focuses on cultural revival, the Anishinaabe language, employment skills and programs needed in the region, and the successful transfer of its graduates to four-year institutions.

The WETCC Woksape Oyate project focuses on professional development across the campus. Like many small rural colleges, WETCC has difficulty recruiting qualified and experienced faculty and staff. Professional development resources are limited, and the college lacked an equitable process for accessing development funding.

Under the Woksape Oyate project, WETCC is updating its professional development infrastructure. Funding will provide for advanced degrees and advanced training for college administrators, faculty, and staff. The entire campus will engage in assessment training to prepare for the 2012-13 accreditation self-study process. Administrators will receive assistance with graduate education and relevant training to guarantee that the college is effective and efficient in its operations and future planning.

The program’s intended outcome is improved institutional effectiveness through enhanced employee performance and improved services to students. The emphasis on accreditation competence assures continuous assessment to improve student learning outcomes.

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