American Indian Higher Education Consortium

Programs: Bia technical assistance: aihec technical assistance program advances tcus' capacity to achieve their individual and collective missions, improve students' success, and maintain accreditation. The broad range of services upon which tcus depend include the coordination of annual collection and analysis of comprehensive institutional data to aid tcus with compliance with increasingly more rigorous accreditation standards and compliance reporting requirements; resolution of issues and challenges with federally-administered grants and programs; disseminating timely and accurate information regarding pending federal programmatic and legislative/appropriations matters of direct relevance to tcus; facilitation of meetings and fostering communities of practice that provide networking opportunities and sharing of best practices among tcu presidents, key staff, faculty, and students; the development of new initiatives for tcus to ensure their inclusion in emerging higher education strategies and best practices; and to ensure that tcus play a central role in developing and promoting a sustainable, collective, and accountable continuum of educational excellence within the tribal communities they serve.

indian health service program: the aihec narch vii is a multi-site research project focused on the establishment of a network of community-based researchers and the development of the research capacities of tcus. The narch project provides professional development at the individual, department, and institution level and offers a coordinated approach to the identification, piloting, and evaluation of intervention strategies and models that address significant behavioral health issues in the communities served by the tcus.

national science foundation programs:aihec indigenous evaluation framework: reseach and capacity building:the aihec indigenous evaluation framework (ief) project includes assessing the impact and usefulness of the ief approach when implemented in three different tribal communities. In the context of the project, the ief curriculum is refined by incorporating new research findings and the capacity of evaluators in american indian communities are strengthened by training american indians and others in conceptually sound and methodologically appropriate evaluation strategies for american indian-based stem education programs. Nsf-tcu stem student success collaborative:the tcu stem student success collaborative is a multi-campus team of stem faculty and academic administrators focused on incorporating culturally- and community-relevant problem-based learning (pbl) into the stem programs of at least six tcus. The multi-campus project team is building on the transformative work of navajo technical college, a tcu that has been highly successful in increasing the number of american indian students completing stem degrees, in large part by promoting and encouraging pbl activities campus-wide. The project is also expanding the existing tcu community of practice focused on american indian student retention and completion, helping to sustain an ongoing effort by aihec and the tcus to identify and share best practices in promoting student success at tcus. Nsf-tcu cyberinfrastructure initiative: a study of tribal college and university cyberinfrastructure and supported stem programs:the tcu cyberinfrastructure initiative aims to broaden participation in stem research and education. Aihec, in partnership with navajo technical university, the university of new mexico, and the network startup resource center (nsrc) based at the university of oregon are conducting a comprehensive study of the current status of the cyberinfrastructure of all 37 tcus, and the roles, both current and planned, of the colleges' cyberinfrastructure in supporting stem education and research programs and activities. The study outcomes will provide each tcu the information (and potential partnerships) necessary to develop and implement a campus cyberinfrastructure plan that will allow tcu faculty and students increased opportunities for participation in national stem research and education programs.

aihec-usda/natural resource conservation service (nrcs) program the partnership to support tribal farmers, ranchers, and communities project is a collaboration with 1994 land grant tribal colleges and universities and enables participating tcus to serve as local training, education, and outreach service provideers that encourage and universities and enables participating tcus to serve as local training, education, and outreach service providers that encourage and support adoption of sound conservation, ranching, and farming practices. Tcus will work with local farmers and ranchers and shareinformation relative to nrcs and other usda resources that are available to them. Aihec-usda tribal agricultural curricula development project: the tribal agricultural curricula development project will support tcus with more effectively preparing and invoking interests of tcu students to pursue business and financial management careers in the u. S. Department of agriculture and/or the agricultural industry. The overarching goal is to increase agricultural career readiness curricula developed by tribal colleges and universities for tribal college and university students. Hhs-ihs growing the american indian/alaska native research community: a nrn/aihec health research initiative a multi-year initiative that builds on a longstanding annual/biennial native research conference organized and hosted by nrn and a partnership between nrn and aihec to sustain the conference and strengthen ai/an tribally-directed research capacity. Bia-climate change adaptation tribal liaison: a tribal climate science liaison provides extension support to tribes and tcus located in arizona, colorado, nevada, and california, the states comprising the service area of the dept. Of the interior southwest climate science center. Funding from private organization: the leona and harry b. Helmsley charitable trust- "tcu native pathways to student success" aihec and achieving the dream (atd) are collaborating on an innovative 2-year initiative to engage rural and under-resourced tcus in a new partnership focused on american indian and alaska native students' success and completion. Each tcu will work with atd coaches to develop an adoption plan that is coordinated with other tcu plans addressing similar issues. To assess annual progress, retention, persistence, and completion data will be compiled for use by the individual tcu natives pathways teams, governing boards, and institutional leadership, as well as for comparison purposes among all participating tcus. The tcus will work together in cross-institutional teams with atd coaches, support each other through one-on-one and mentor-mentee relationships, and share effective strategies and best practices in the implementation of the atd model through monthly conference calls, convenings, and visits to participating tcus. Nih-ipert "the aseto'ne project:" the aseto'ne project is a broad, multi-institutional initiative that coordinates outreach, educational enrichment, mentoring and personal development activities carried out at the nation's 37 tcus, the university of nebraska medical center, and national conferences focusing on american indian and underrepresented minorities' participation in stem. The project will create a network of professional researchers, faculty, and students involved in activities that develop and support students' academic and research-specificskills and interests, and inspire students to pursue a career as a health sciences researcher. Doe tribal college and university advanced manufacturing network (phase ii): the tcu advanced manufacturing network (phase ii) initiative aims to establish a network of tribal colleges and universities with the essential advanced manufacturing facilities, associated training and education programs, and private sector and federal agency partnerships to both prepare an american indian advanced manufacturing workforce and create economic and employment opportunities within tribal communities through design, manufacture, and marketing of high quality products.