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About the Tribal Colleges and Universities Initiative

President Bush recognized the important role Tribal Colleges and Universities play in American Indian communities and on July 3, 2002, signed White House 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 TCU Initiative was established by White House Executive Order 13021 on October 19, 1996. The initiative supports the goal of increasing the tribal colleges' access to federal funds and opportunities, expand their participation in federal programs, and raise awareness about the important role TCUs have in our community. The order also fosters links between TCUs and private and non-government organizations.

Since the tribal college movement began in the late 1960s, the number of TCUs has grown to 33. All of the Tribal Colleges are members of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, a professional association governed by each member institution.

Located on or near reservations, TCUs serve approximately 25,000 students, with the majority being American Indian students from more than 250 tribes. All TCUs offer two-year degrees, five offer four-year degrees and two offer graduate degrees. Tribal colleges are fully accredited by regional accrediting agencies, with the exception of three colleges that are candidates for accreditation. Tribal Colleges are unique in their dual mission to 1) rebuild, reinforce and explore traditional tribal cultures, using uniquely designed curricula and institutional settings; and at the same time 2) address Western models of learning by providing traditional discipline-specific courses that are transferrable to four-year institutions.

The average age of a Tribal College student is 31.5, and over half of all TCU students are single parents. In addition, half of all students attend on a part-time basis, and more than half of all TCU students are women. During the 1990s overall Tribal College enrollment increased more rapidly than has American Indian enrollment at mainstream institutions.

Despite their vital role in blending academics and American Indian culture, tribal colleges have been consistently underfunded. Through the White House Executive Order, each agency within the federal government is required to develop a five-year plan of its efforts to provide TCU's access to federal funding opportunities and to boost national awareness of the importance of tribal colleges.

The Department of Education has the lead in this government-wide effort, and the Office of Minority Health (OMH) is the lead within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Agencies must address ways to keep TCUs informed about funding opportunities; set annual goals for agency funds to be awarded to TCUs, and pinpoint areas of technical assistance that will be made available regarding the preparation of proposals for grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts.

Each HHS agency develops annual plans that become part of a Departmental five-year plan, begun in Fiscal Year (FY)1999. The FY 2001- FY 2003 plans are under review by the Secretary of HHS. Overall, the five-year plan focuses on improving communication between HHS and TCUs.


Reference:
White House Executive Order 13021.


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