Enrollment of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in postsecondary education in the United States has been increasing over the past three decades (Chee, Shorty, and Robinson Kurpius 2019). The Tribal College Movement began more than 40 years ago with the establishment of the first tribally-controlled community college in 1968.…

To meet the demands of a growing knowledge economy, North Carolina must address a history of exclusion that has disproportionately impacted Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and American Indian communities and individuals who earn low wages by intentionally creating conditions that develop talent within these communities. This report…

The CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) announce the inaugural winners of the Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Equity Awards, recognizing strategies that have been proven to put CPL in reach of key adult learner populations and/or increase their CPL credit-earning.…

The Campaign for College Opportunity has always been a champion of ensuring equal and equitable treatment of all students in higher education. The Campaign for College Opportunity recognizes the value and necessity of understanding the experience of diverse learners by disaggregating data to explore trends, opportunities, and challenges. More…

Understanding the college experiences of Indigenous students in the United States is critical to enhance their goals of educational attainment. Indigenous college students have been historically underserved by institutions they attend, which are often fraught with the uncertainty of belonging and feelings of isolation. A driving force behind this…

Minority-serving institutions (MSIs) are considered models of excellence to support underrepresented racial and ethnic students; however, multiple definitions of MSIs complicate the consumption and production of research on these critical institutions. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) uses set criteria to define MSIs, based primarily on…

The United States has boosted attainment rates over the past decade, with the share of young adults with at least an associate degree increasing by 20 percent, resulting in an additional 5 million more individuals earning a college degree. But these gains in postsecondary attainment are not evenly distributed across the country. Of the 218.6…

Native Americans are largely absent from the basic writing literature, yet their experiences and identity construction as emerging academic writers offer important insights for college writing instructors. This study addresses previous research on Native American college writers, the legacy of education and writing in Native communities, and the…

In the fall of 2019, Nebraska Indian Community College [NICC] became the first tribal college to participate in a new data service of the National Student Clearinghouse called the Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP). A small college with high aspirations for its students, NICC was in the process of building data capacity and adopting data-driven…

This edition of "WICHE Insights" explores federal U.S. Department of Education Title III funding, which is used to enhance institutional capacity and educational opportunities for American Indian/Alaska Native and low-income students through the lens of the legislation's permissible activities, key themes across all projects; and dollars…

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other minority institutions (MIs) represent a valuable resource to expand the Department of Defense's (DoD) government and extramural workforce and science and technology enterprise. The more than 400 public and private HBCUs, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions,…

This annotated bibliography has been prepared to inform educators, tribal leaders, researchers,and policymakers about research-based efforts to identify promising practices related to reclaiming and revitalizing Native American language and culture at all stages of education, from early childhood to postsecondary education. The articles described…

The purpose of this report on Arkansas STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program activity is to inform education and policy makers about the need to prepare and graduate more students with degrees in STEM related fields as defined by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Arkansas is witnessing a significant…

According to the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), there are 36 federally recognized TCUs in the United States. Located mainly in the Midwest and Southwest, TCUs enroll approximately 30,000 full- and part-time students. They offer two-year associate degrees in more than 200 disciplines, with some providing a…

Community colleges currently enroll about 44% of the undergraduate students in the United States and are rapidly expanding. It is of critical importance to obtain direct evidence of student learning to see if students receive adequate training at community colleges. This study investigated the 10-year trends of community college students' (n =…