Shining a Spotlight on Tribal Colleges and Universities in the US

Longitudinal education data has shown that Native Americans are among the most underrepresented groups when it comes to higher education access in the US (Brayboy et al. 2012). From 1976 to 2016, less than one Native American enrolled in higher education among 100 enrolled students at all US colleges and universities. Regarding higher education attainment, from 1996 to 2009, around one-fifth of Native American students could graduate within four years of their first-time attendance at a four-year institution for a bachelor’s degree, much lower than the national average. From the academic year 1976-77 to 2014-15, among every 100 students who were rewarded the associate degree each year, there was only one Native American student, and less than one Native student was awarded bachelor or graduate degrees (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES] 2017).