Financial Education Resources Available from Tribal Colleges

The education offered at each tribal college differs. Some offer two-year associate’s degrees or certificate programs. Others offer four-year bachelor’s degrees and graduate course work.

Many have leading-edge technical training programs that give students the skills they need to get a job, but still mesh with regular college programs if the student decides to pursue a degree later on.

Tribal colleges offer many benefits to their students, including:

• open admissions policy; if a student has a high-school diploma or is working toward one, he or she can enroll
• community services, including alcohol and drug abuse counseling, GED exam preparation assistance, child care, and others
• low tuition cost

Due to the efforts of NFEC partners within American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), the board of directors at AIHEC recently passed a resolution to institutionalize financial education programs in their curricula and establish a financial education liaison for this purpose. Over 18 of the tribal institutions are active with the NFEC Tribal Colleges and Universities Initiative Committee and the number continues to grow. Regular presentations at AIHEC meeting and conferences continue to spur this movement and many of these groups have sent instructors to the Building Native Communities instructor training workshops.