And I think that anything that invites more Native American students into higher education is a good thing.” “Our students have been asking for this,” said University of Minnesota Morris Acting Chancellor Janet Schrunk Ericksen of the new program. More than a quarter of the student body there identifies as Native American.
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It offers free tuition regardless of income, and is open to direct descendants of tribal members from the U.S. The University of Minnesota Morris program is broader than the new system-wide program. Related How the U more than doubled its Native American student graduation rate.
In Morris Native students find ways to excel in a place of trauma.More than 6,000 waivers have been awarded since Morris joined the U of M system in 1960. The University's Morris campus has offered free tuition to Native American students for decades. In her memo to tribal leaders, Gabel called the expansion a “significant achievement” and said it will place the U of M’s program “among the nation’s most comprehensive free and reduced tuition programs for Native American students.” There are only a handful of other states, including Michigan, that offer tuition waivers to Native American students. "I think right now we're just basking in this new opportunity, and the opportunity that's going to give our Native students to access an institution that historically we've been denied access to." Geshick and others say the new Native American Promise Tuition Program will show Native American students that college is a realistic option for them, and provide financial resources to help make it a reality. She’s a citizen of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, and has a masters degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth in tribal administration and governance. Geshick is now executive director of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council. I didn't think that was a right, or opportunity reserved for us," she said. But I did not know that Native people could go to college. But for Shannon Geshick, it went even further than that. It’s not uncommon for many high school students to think that college might be out of reach for them. “This program is a meaningful step to increasing access and continuing to improve retention and graduation rates while closing opportunity gaps.” A new opportunity “We have been very honest from my first days as president that we need to better serve citizens of our Tribal Nations and their communities,” Gabel said in a statement. Students don’t need to be Minnesota residents to be eligible as long as they are a citizen of one of the state’s tribal nations. Students must maintain full-time enrollment and keep a 2.0 or better cumulative grade-point average.
Diver said starting only with incoming students allows the U to plan and get a better handle of the demand for the program in the future.
Students already enrolled at the University are also not eligible for the program. "The thinking behind it is that once you reach that level, you have other supports in place, and the tuition would be less of a barrier." "They would be eligible for other scholarships and aid," said Karen Diver, the University’s senior adviser to the president for Native American affairs.
Students with family income above that level would not be eligible for the program. Students from families earning up to $100,000 would have 90 percent of their tuition covered and 80 percent for an annual income up to $125,000.
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Starting in the fall of 2022, first-year students or tribal college transfer students whose families earn under $75,000 a year will be eligible for a scholarship covering full tuition. University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel announced the creation of the Native American Promise Tuition Program in a memo to the state’s tribal leaders, calling it a “significant expansion of Native American student tuition support.” The University of Minnesota plans to extend “substantial financial support,” including in many cases completely free tuition, to enrolled members of the state’s 11 federally recognized tribal nations.
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