Another 400 students across the state receive DQU sponsored instruction on their reservations. Judging DQU's success is difficult, and statistics can be misleading. Silva Burley, for example, dropped out twice before finally earning enough credits to transfer in 1997 to Evergreen State College in Washington, where she recently earned a bachelor's degree in tribal administration. DQ officials have focused hard on increasing the course completion rates while reducing the number of dropouts. The culture has changed.
Instructors point to what they see as the steady improvement in the quality of entering students.
They are younger, in their early 20s, not early 30s. More have completed high school rather than earning a graduate equivalency diploma. Vince Wyatt is among the better-known students. He is the school's former student body president and, at age 42, one of its oldest pupils. He was among those responsible for resurrecting the sweat lodge.