Winds of Change - College 2016 - 21

200 THE TOP COLLEGES for Native Americans OUR UNIQUE COMPILATION OF INFORMATION ON 200 COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IS SPECIFICALLY GEARED TOWARD NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS. See page 22 for the legend - "How to Read the Tables." Turn to the list of 200 colleges and universities to research where American Indians are going to school in significant numbers and where the community, Native programs, and support are strong enough for these students to enjoy college and stay on to graduate. Unlike most "top colleges" lists, the focus here is on the Native community and the support system, from admission through graduation. The Winds of Change list also clearly reflects Native population demographics, with the Southwest, the Northwest, Oklahoma, California, and the Great Lakes states heavily represented - in contrast to the East, Southeast, and Midwest of other lists. The term "American Indian" and the abbreviations "AI" and "NA" used here are inclusive of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander. We continue to provide data on graduation rates, both total and for American Indians, and the same aises.org for STEM baccalaureate degrees. This year we have also included data in the faculty section on American Indian faculty. How Did We Select These 200 Schools? We review the latest information available from the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database, especially focusing on statistics on degrees, graduation rates, and enrollment. Our thanks to the DOE, IPEDS, and Sam Barbett for their help and support in this effort. We look for colleges that have a good, and good-sized, American Indian support community; we focus on those that graduate a significant percentage of their Native undergraduates. These two parameters - the Native community and the number of degrees - are the major criteria for selection. We try to focus on schools with more than 30 American Indian undergraduates, or 2 percent or more, and those that award 20-plus baccalaureate degrees to Native students. We also take note of a school's AI percentages in comparison with the state's AI population, expressed as a percentage. How Is the Information Presented? In the double-page format, the left-hand page contains the descriptive information you would expect in any guide. Material has been drawn largely from the IPEDS database. The right-hand page contains information specific to American Indian students, organized in three sections. The first describes the school's American Indian community, including the total numbers and percentages for Native American students - degrees, graduation rates, STEM degrees, and enrollments - undergraduate and graduate. The second section lists specific support programs for American Indians, grouped into three subsections: Financial, Academic, and Support. The third section lists each school's main website. In total, this page provides a snapshot of the Native community and the environment at each school. It offers good indicators for prospective AI students on the academic/social climate and the chances for individual growth, achievement, and the ultimate goal of graduation. Also see the AI Faculty column on the left-hand page. Please refer to the next page of this section for descriptions of the column headings used in the data pages. In summary, the information here is straightforward, created specifically for Native Americans and their advisors. It is all that you should need to create your starter list of schools for more in-depth consideration. Good luck in this search of - and for - a lifetime! 2016-2017 SPECIAL COLLEGE ISSUE * WINDS OF CHANGE 21 http://www.aises.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Winds of Change - College 2016