Opposition to Funding Tribal Colleges and Universities Despite Tribal Colleges and Universities’ successes in the areas of cultural preservation, opposition to TCUs cites numerous reasons why these institutions should be defunded. Those who challenge the perceived success of Tribal Colleges and Universities mention issues of low commitment levels for faculty and students, graduates who are underprepared to compete in the global job market, potential dependency on governmental largess, and a low number of awarded degrees as justification for disintegrating TCUs. Burnett urges us to reconsider the relevance of TCUs in higher education in his article for The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy. According to the article, Chief …show more content…
Burnett argues that students who attend tribal colleges are less prepared to compete for high-paying jobs, which further disadvantages their tribal communities. TCU graduates may receive certificates and degrees in subjects such as business, Indian arts, native language, accounting, nursing, customer service, office technology, and commercial driving, while few TCU students receive education in more progressive fields such as science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (The John William Pope Center). I would argue that the root cause of this issue has little to do with tribal colleges and more to do with a lack of community resources. As previously mentioned, many TCUs struggle to maintain sufficient libraries, let alone computer and science laboratories. I would also challenge Burnett’s tendency to prioritize global job market preparedness over local job market preparedness, especially considering that one of the missions of TCUs is to procure students who are willing to return to and improve their local …show more content…
By forming partnerships with tribal colleges, mainstream institutions can play a role in student success for Natives seeking four-year degree programs. Aligning credit requirements and transfer agreements between TCUs and adjacent mainstream universities are also methods for strengthening this higher education pipeline and encouraging students to complete four-year and graduate degrees. It is important to note, however, that these partnerships should be built on cultural sensitivity and authentic dialogue between tribal and non-Tribal institutions (Stull, et.