Abstract 1: Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (OK) $549,997

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College — Carl Albert State College

Application for Cooperative Arrangement NASNTI Project

Abstract

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) and Carl Albert State College (CASC)—both

two-year, public, open-door Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions—propose a

cooperative Title III NASNTI project.

Lead institution NEO is located in Miami, OK (pop. 13,176), in the northeastern corner of

the state. NEO’s 2,040 square-mile, three-county service area (pop. 88,298, 30% Native

American), is home to ten tribal jurisdictions. In Fall 2021, Native Americans represented 29%

of enrollment. NEO offers degrees and certificates in 38 transfer and occupational programs.

Partner institution CASC is located in Poteau, OK (pop. 8,866), with a branch campus in

Sallisaw, OK (pop. 8,476). The two-county, 2,223 square mile service area (pop. 91,686, 24.5%

Native American) is near the heart of the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations; Native Americans

comprised 38% of Fall 2021 enrollment. CASC offers degrees in 28 programs.

In response to the recent COVID pandemic, partner institutions expanded online and hybrid

offerings, while adding real-time remote classes using Zoom videoconferencing technology.

Since 2020, the number of virtual course sections has increased by 78% at NEO and by 52% at

CASC. Our students continue to embrace virtual learning even as the pandemic’s grip loosens.

Despite the partners’ responsiveness to students’ evolving postsecondary needs,

institutional analysis has revealed unacceptable rates of retention and completion at both NEO

and CASC. Fall-to-fall retention for NEO’s incoming Fall 2020 cohort was 55% (49% for Native

American students). CASC retention for the same period was 74%, but just 30% for Native

American students. Of students enrolling at NEO in Fall 2019, 22% graduated by Spring 2022

(21% for Native American students). CASC’s three-year graduation rate was 32% for the Fall

2017 cohort, but just 10% for Native American students.

Multiple gaps and weaknesses affect partner institutions’ ability to support students in

virtual (online, hybrid, Zoom-based) options. Online student services are less robust than their

on-campus counterparts, and neither institution is able to provide adequate professional
development for virtual instructors. NEO’s outdated website and mobile presence precludes

interactive support for virtual students, and high failure rates in CASC’s virtual remedial and

core college courses point to insufficient resources for those accessing those classes remotely.

In response to these gaps and weaknesses, NEO and CASC propose Serving the New

Majority, a two-initiative project to develop a robust Virtual Campus for each institution:

Initiative 1: Strengthen Faculty Capacity to Provide Effective Virtual Campus Instruction.

The partners will develop and customize new faculty onboarding modules to orient faculty to

virtual campus teaching. We will jointly establish a faculty resource repository and provide

training in cultural responsiveness, Universal Design for Learning, teaching with technology,

interaction/engagement in virtual courses, and using Open Educational Resources.

Initiative 2: Address Gaps and Weaknesses to Provide Effective Virtual Campus Student

Support. NEO and CASC will integrate new/redesigned student support into their coaching/

mentoring systems and develop student orientations to virtual learning. NEO will develop online

supports to align with Universal Design for Learning, address students’ social and emotional

needs, and ensure virtual support is interactive. CASC will create academic support modules for

remedial and high-risk courses and create virtual resources for underserved students.

The proposed project addresses both Competitive Preference Priorities for the NASNTI FY

2022 competition. Five-year budget request: $2,749,977 (NEO $1,596,013; CASC $1,153,964).
Abstract 2: Eastern New Mexico University-Ruidoso (NM) $327,550

Applicant: Eastern New Mexico University-Ruidoso

Address: 709 Mechem Dr., Ruidoso, NM 88345

Amount Requested: 1,659,693

Project Summary: ENMU-Ruidoso has a Native American enrollment of over 15%, while more

than 50% of students are low-income. The college utilized an in-depth planning process to develop an 

innovative project that will improve retention and graduation rates for these student populations. The 

proposed project, LEARN (Leveraging Educational Activities and Retaining Native students), will 

implement three components to serve Native American and low-income students.

• Component 1: Expanding Education will include providing college classes/programs on Mescalero 

Tribal Lands and developing outreach activities to share information about college-going and 

careers to students in grades 6-12 at the Mescalero Apache School, to adults seeking to improve 

their careers, and to other individuals throughout the college’s service area.

• Component 2: Supporting Students focuses on providing direct student support, including peer 

mentoring, mental health counseling, and referrals to other services such as tutoring, food banks, 

housing assistance, and others. In addition, a Career and Transfer Center will be developed to offer 

services both in person and virtually; and a new lending library will be housed in the Career and 

Transfer Center to loan students textbooks and laptop computers to use while they are enrolled.

• Component 3: Cultural Preservation will include workshops and ongoing professional development 

for faculty and staff that focuses on the traditions of the Mescalero Apache, as well as how to 

incorporate culturally-relevant information into work with Native American and low-income 

students. The college will make this training mandatory for all existing and incoming employees.

Objectives: The following objectives have been established for LEARN:

• Objective 1: By Sept. 30, 2027, increase the percentage of ENMU-Ruidoso students who are Native 

American by 5 percentage points. (baseline: 15.8%)

• Objective 2: By Sept. 30, 2027, improve the fall-to-fall retention rate for Native American and/or 

low-income students by 15 percentage points (baseline: 21.5%).

• Objective 3: By Sept. 30, 2027, improve the three-year (150% time) graduation rate for Native 

American and/or low-income students by 30 percentage points (baseline: 0%).

• Objective 4: By Sept. 30, 2027, provide Native American cultural and language professional 

development training to 100% of faculty and staff (baseline: 0).

• Objective 5: By Sept. 30, 2027, decrease in-district students’ average annual cost of higher 

education (tuition, fees, books) by $1,622 (baseline: $2,122).
Competitive Preference Priorities: ENMU-Ruidoso is addressing both Competitive Preference Priorities 

for this grant. A separate narrative addressing how LEARN meets each is attached

under the “Other Attachments” form.
Abstract 3: Northland Pioneer College (AZ) $289,074

Navajo County Community College District d.b.a. Northland Pioneer College - Arizona Native American 

Serving Non-Tribal Institutions (NASNTI) Part A Program

A Relational Model for Student Success (ARMSS)

PROJECT ABSTRACT

Northland Pioneer College (NPC) serving all of Navajo and Apache Counties, a rural, remote region of 

over 21,000 square miles in Northeastern Arizona’s Second Congressional District, proposes A Relational 

Model for Student Success (ARMSS). Through this five-year project, NPC will achieve the following 

project goals:

1. By Fall Census Day (45th day of semester), 2027, increase the number of regular degree or certificateseeking students from 1,124 (FA 21) to 1,500 (33%), 45% of whom are Native American. 2. By Fall 

Census Day, 2027, increase the fall-to-fall retention rate among regular degree or certificate-seeking 

students from 30.2% (Avg from 16-17 to 20-21) to 45% with not less than 45% being Native American. 

3. By September 30, 2027, increase the number of regular students who complete a degree or certificate 

from 436 (Avg from 16-17 to 20-21) to, 523 (20%) not less than 40% of whom are Native American. 4. 

By Census Day, 2027, increase the number of Full Time Student Equivalents (FTSEs) among regular 

degree or certificate-seeking students by 30%, resulting in increased revenue from tuition, and 

increased expenditure limit capacity.

Grant funds totaling $ 1,604,595.00 over the five-year grant period are requested for the following key 

strategies:

• Implementation of an Online Information Center that serves as the single source of comprehensive, 

consistent college information for all students, faculty, and staff at all college locations, regardless 

of where they come into contact with the college. (Year 1)

• Augmentation of the campus One-Stop Shops to NPC’s remote center locations, including the thee 

centers located on Native American tribal lands. (Years 1 & 2)

• Adoption of a holistic, relational model for academic advising. (Years 2 through 5)

• Implementation of Learning Communities, based on areas of interest, to advance students’ sense 

of engagement and belonging. (Years 2 through 5)

• Strategies 1-4 lay the groundwork for the culmination of our efforts: Establishment of a 

comprehensive Native American Student Success Initiative that strengthens Native American 

cultural awareness among students, faculty and staff, and engages Native American students with 

all project strategies, as well as a peer-to-peer mentorship program and targeted activities to 

promote student belonging and connectedness, including family events, enrichment programs, and 

special-focus classes, such as financial literacy. (Years 1 through 5)

Strategies for accomplishing the goals for A Relational Model for Student Success addresses Competitive 

Preference Priorities 1 and 2, as described in the required attachments.
Because of its capacity to improve post-secondary outcomes across a region profoundly marked by the 

effects of poverty, and its potential to improve the quality of life for its students, NPC is committed to 

ARMSS. A grant from NASNTI will provide the seed funding to implement vital institutional change that 

is inherently self-sustaining.
Abstract 4: Utah State University, Blanding (UT) $550,000

ABSTRACT

The Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTI) program, located in Utah, is a public twoyear, state-supported, comprehensive regional college accredited by the Northwest Commission of 

Colleges and Universities within the Utah State University system. Isolated from the mainstream of 

American educational and social life, the area includes one of the nation's largest concentrations of 

American Indians. The service area covers over 40,000 square miles and encompasses portions of the 

Navajo, Ute Mountain Ute Indian, and Hopi Nations.

USU Blanding has the largest enrollment of Native Americans of the nine accredited state institutions of 

higher education in Utah. Approximately 69% of the student body at the Blanding Campus is Native 

American. Seventy percent are female, and 72% are under 30. Seventy-eight percent of this campus’ 

students are first-generation college. 86% percent would be classified as disadvantaged college 

students, and 92% of the student body were recipients of PELL Grants in the 2020-21 Academic Year. To 

ensure that the goals and objectives of this project will be achieved, USU Blanding will work 

cooperatively with the Utah State University Logan, more specifically with the Office of University 

Advising and Exploratory Advising.

USU Diversity Survey Report, published in 2021, indicated that 60% of our students reported challenges 

with their emotional/mental well-being, and recently focus groups report indicated that almost 50% of 

the students are not aware of academic support resources available on Campus and do not personally 

interact with advisers, mentors, or faculty. Presently, USU Blanding has all mental health services only 

available via Zoom.

Therefore be achieved by (1) Putting in place mental health structure to cope effectively with the impact 

of the COVID pandemic (2) Making Appreciative Advising the paramount strategy for all student support 

services and, (3) the foremost priority of this project will be to improve students’ emotional, social, and 

academic well-being. That will Implementing a unified, thorough, and comprehensive website-based 

communication system, the NASNTI Student-Centered Platform.

These strategies address CPP1 and CPP2 and will significantly increase the academic success of our 

Native American and low-income students.

Competitive Preference Priority 1: Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs (up to 5 

points). Projects that are designed to improve students’ social, emotional, academic, and career 

development, with a focus on underserved students (as defined in this notice), by creating a positive, 

inclusive, and identity-safe climate at IHEs through one or more of the following activities: (a) Fostering 

a sense of belonging and inclusion for underserved students. (b) Implementing evidence-based practices 
for advancing student success for underserved students. (c) Providing evidence-based professional 

development opportunities designed to build asset-based mindsets for faculty and staff on campus and 

that are inclusive with regard to race, ethnicity, culture, language, and disability status.

Competitive Preference Priority 2: Increasing Postsecondary Education Access, Affordability, 

Completion, and Post-Enrollment Success. Projects that are designed to increase postsecondary access, 

affordability, completion, and success for underserved students by addressing one or more of the 

following priority areas: (a) Increasing postsecondary education access and reducing the cost of college 

by creating clearer pathways for students between institutions and making transfer of course credits 

more seamless and transparent. (b) Increasing the number and proportion of underserved students who 

enroll in and complete postsecondary education programs, which may include strategies related to 

college preparation, awareness, application, selection, advising, counseling, and enrollment. (c) 

Reducing the net price or debt-to-earnings ratio for underserved students who enroll in or complete 

college, other postsecondary education, or career and technical education programs. (d) Supporting the 

development and implementation of student success programs that integrate multiple comprehensive 

and evidence-based services or initiatives, such as academic advising, structured/guided pathways, 

career services, credit-bearing academic undergraduate courses focused on career, and programs to 

meet basic needs, such as housing, childcare and transportation, student financial aid, and access to 

technological devices.
Abstract 5: San Juan College (NM) $349,921

Project Abstract

San Juan College (SJC) is a two-year commuter college in rural San Juan County, northwest New Mexico. 

The students are mostly locals: seventy-four percent (74%) of enrollment comes from San Juan County 

(SJC IR, 2019). Students’ lives are much the same as the lives of the community: The area has a high 

poverty rate (23%); over one-third of our students are low income (37%). Cultural traditions 

underemphasize educational pursuits: only 15% of the county has a Bachelor’s degree or higher; 37% of 

SJC’s students are the first in their families to attend college (SJC IR, 2019). The majority (58%) of the 

College’s population comprises minorities: 32% Indigenous Peoples, 16% Latinx, and 10% other. English 

is often the second language. The Diné (Navajo Nation), the largest Indigenous American reservation in 

the United States, comprises one-third of the College’s district. Ute Mountain Utes, Southern Utes, and 

Jicarilla Apache are also within SJC’s service area. SJC is located in the county’s largest town.

SJC requests an annual grant award of $349,921 for a period of five years to offer a NASNTI Program 

serving 150 Native American and low-income students annually to 1) help ensure their academic 

success, retention, and graduation 2) foster a climate supportive of those ends 3) align learning to the 

knowledge and skills needed for employment in high growth sectors and 4) improve participant financial 

and economic literacy. The program will also impact the training and development of 25 faculty annually 

to improve students’ success and connectedness to the academic landscape.

Project objectives are centered around the key areas of improvement for both Native American students 

and students for economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Those objectives include increasing 

persistence into the second year of college, increasing the percentage of students who graduate within 

three years, and students who complete math in the first year. The project also sets out to increase the 

capacity of math faculty to provide more effective instruction for underrepresented students.

The evaluation process will include both formative and summative assessments and comparison of the 

outcomes of project participants to institutional baseline data. The plan includes measurable 

performance objectives, evaluation of individual activities, participant evaluations and evaluation of 

program management. A strong quality design ensures that the program will be implemented in such a 

way that both formative and summative data collection will inform resource implementation and ensure 

objectives are met annually.

The project will address the two Competitive Preference Priorities offered in the RFP: Competitive 

Preference Priority 1: Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs and Competitive 

Preference Priority 2: Increasing Postsecondary Education Access, Affordability, Completion, and PostEnrollment Success
Abstract 6: Redlands Community College (OK) $550,000

NASNTI Part A – Cooperative

RCC & WOSC

ABSTRACT

Redlands Community College (RCC) and Western Oklahoma State College (WOSC) are partnering 

together to increase the diversity and success of nursing students in rural and tribal areas of Oklahoma 

through a proposed NASNTI Part A project entitled, Addressing Nursing Shortage in Rural and Tribal 

Healthcare. Research illustrates the current national and statewide nursing shortage, especially in rural 

and tribal healthcare, as well as the need to increase Native American representation in nursing and 

better cultural competency of nurses who work in rural and tribal healthcare.

This proposed project seeks to increase enrollment, retention, completion, NCLEX exam pass rates, and 

cultural competency of students in the nursing programs at RCC and WOSC through the key 

elements/services of success coaching, targeted outreach and recruitment, the development and 

offering of a cultural awareness micro credential, and the development and offering of a Health Careers 

Edventure program. Additionally, the targeted outreach and recruitment will focus on increasing Native 

American representation by 1% annually in the nursing programs. The project seeks to increase 

enrollment by 5% annually, and retention and completion by 1% annually. This will be possible through 

hiring two NASNTI Success Coaches and two NASNTI Outreach Specialists in addition to a NASNTI

Director.

This project will address the following Competitive Preference Priorities:

• Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs

• Increasing Postsecondary Education Access, Affordability, Completion, and PostEnrollment Success