Report on Native Higher Education Success Strategies
Published Jan 2025
The American Indian College Fund held a joint convening with the Brookings Institute and the Institute of Higher Education Policy to examine the status of Native higher education policy and create a proactive, strategic approach to increase policy engagement for Native students and their allies. Learnings from the convening are shared in a co-authored Report on Native Higher Education Success Strategies: Strengthening policies, respecting tribal sovereignty, and leveraging data to address the decline in Native American higher education enrollment. This report outlines recommendations for higher education institutions, educators, policymakers, and tribal communities to ensure Native students, who are not classified as a racial group, retain access to higher education.
Recommendations include promoting inclusive collaboration on data and research; promoting access and increased funding for substantive research and policy development; and creating awareness and access to successful work that is already being done in the higher education field.
To discuss findings from 2024 Native Higher Education Policy Convening, the American Indian College Fund hosted a webinar on January 15, 2025. The panel was moderated by Cheryl Crazy Bull (Sicangu Lakota), President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund. Panelists include Robert Maxim (Mashpee Wampanoag), a fellow at Brookings Metro; Leander R. McDonald, Ph.D. (Spirit Lake Dakota Nation and proud descendant of the Sahnish, Hidatsa, and Hunkpapa Nations), President of United Tribes Technical College; and Mamie Voight, President and CEO of the Institute for Higher Education Policy.