College joins American Indian program

Flathead Valley Community College is working with the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education as a part of a statewide effort to increase American Indian student retention rates.  

The American Indian Scholar Program began in mid-February with the goal of reaching out to college students, according to Angela McLean, the office’s director of American Indian and minority achievement 

“When we’re talking academic gaps for our Native Americans there’s a 20-point gap in retention rates compared to their non-native counterpart,” McLean said. “It’s long overdue those gaps are closed.” 

She said while American Indians make up nearly 7 percent of Montana’s population, they’re only 5 percent of students within the Montana University System. Out of that, roughly 52 percent of full-time freshmen return for their second year at a four-year university and 48 percent return at two-year colleges. 

According to the Office of Higher Education, less than 4 percent of all Montana graduates are American Indian students. 

McLean said while the program is just beginning to take shape, every Montana college and university has joined the partnership and has agreed to select a liaison on each campus to meet with American Indian students when they first arrive. 

“These liaisons will hopefully be able to address issues and concerns for an American Indian student that may be different than a non-native’s concerns,” McLean said.  

McLean became the new director of American Indian and minority achievement in January. She said designating a person on each campus to hear students’ needs ensures the state continues to find issues tied to retention rates as she transitions into her role.  

The program will also aim to help students transition from K-12 to college and provide more ways to tap into affordable higher education. 

There are 58 American Indian students attending FVCC, roughly 2.6 percent of the school’s overall student population. The school has also acted as a parent college for its two neighbor tribal colleges — Blackfeet Community College in Browning and Salish Kootenai College in Pablo. 

“Flathead Valley Community College has been a leader on this front in a lot of ways,” McLean said. “But this is an exciting time where this program expands efforts system-wide to reach these students.” 

FVCC President Jane Karas said because the school sits between two tribal colleges, it has focused on pairing with those establishments to reach out to American Indian students across the Flathead Valley. 

She said while FVCC has selected a liaison, it’s still forming how the new program will play out on its campus. 

“Because some of our students come from reservations, with different cultural issues, we want to make sure we help them be successful,” Karas said. “The beauty of community college is that our students come from so many different places and backgrounds and we get to celebrate that diversity of culture.” 

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-443 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.