A New Look at College Affordability for Indigenous Students

A group of scholarship suppliers for Native American students on Wednesday produced a report detailing their 1st countrywide review on university affordability for Indigenous students. Researchers surveyed 1,607 existing and 1,182 previous scholarship recipients in 2020 and conducted interviews and sharing circles with 96 existing and former college students in 2021 to obtain a superior knowledge of their economical limitations.

The study identified that 72 percent of current college students surveyed described they had operate out of income at minimum after in the very last six months, and 67 percent said they were being accountable for encouraging with family payments. Fifty percent of all members claimed deciding upon where to go to higher education dependent on overall expense of attendance.

The report, funded by the Lumina Foundation, was a collaboration concerning four Native American scholarship vendors: the American Indian School Fund, the Native Ahead Scholars Fund, the Cobell Scholarship and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.

“We want the American community and policymakers to comprehend the exclusive boundaries faced by Native college students as they pursue their schooling goals,” Cheryl Mad Bull, president and CEO of the American Indian Faculty Fund, explained in a press release. “These boundaries can be eliminated by means of ongoing financial investment via scholarships, tuition assistance, and supportive partnerships. This study offers a basis from which to explore all those investments.”