Tribal Colleges and Universities are both integral and essential to their communities. They are often the only postsecondary institutions within some of our Nation's poorest rural areas. Tribal Colleges and Universities serve a variety of people, from young adults to senior citizens, American Indians to non-American Indians. They also provide crucial services and add hope to communities that suffer high rates of poverty and unemployment.

President Bush recognized the important role Tribal Colleges and Universities play in American Indian communities and on July 3, 2002, signed Executive Order 13270 on Tribal Colleges and Universities. The Executive Order established the President's Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities and the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities.

The executive order states, "It is the policy of the Federal Government that this Nation's commitment to educational excellence and opportunity must extend as well to the tribal colleges and universities that serve Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities."

Assuring No American Indian Student is Left Behind

"The President's Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities and the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities (WHITCU) established by this order shall ensure that this national policy regarding tribal colleges is carried out with direct accountability at the highest levels of the Federal Government."

The advisory board is charged with ensuring that Tribal Colleges and Universities have full access to federal and private programs and funds that benefit other higher education institutions. The board will make recommendations to the President and the Secretary of Education on ways the Federal Government and the private sector can help Tribal Colleges and Universities strengthen and expand their resources, programs, facilities, and use of technology.

Tribal Colleges and Universities

There are 32 federally recognized Tribal Colleges and Universities in the United States. Located mainly in the Midwest and Southwest, Tribal Colleges and Universities service over 30,000 full- and part-time students. They offer two-year associate degrees in over 200 disciplines with some providing a bachelor's and master's degree. They also offer 200 vocational certificate programs.

"Tribal Colleges and Universities help preserve irreplaceable languages and cultural traditions. At the same time, of course, they offer a high quality college education to thousands of students, and provide much needed job training and other means of economic development in Indian country... All Americans deserve an excellent education, including those who attend Tribal Colleges and Universities." —President George W. Bush

WHITCU provides recommendations to the President on ways the Federal Government can help tribal colleges do the following:

• Strengthen institutional viability by using long-term development, endowment building, and planning;

• Improve financial management and security by obtaining private-sector funding and expanding federal education initiatives;

• Develop institutional capacity through the use of new technology;

• Enhance physical infrastructure to facilitate more efficient operation and effective recruitment; and

• Help implement the No Child Left Behind Act and meet other high standards of educational achievement.

White House Initiative on
Tribal Colleges and Universities
U.S. Department of Education
1990 K Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 219-7040
Fax: (202) 219-7086
E-mail: whitcu@ed.gov
www.ed.gov/whitcu/

www.NoChildLeftBehind.gov
1.800.USA.LEARN

Photos courtesy of the American Indian College Fund