With the start of this spring semester, Salt Lake Community College has implemented a first-of-its-kind tuition waiver specifically for tribal members in Utah. The waiver covers the full cost of up to 18 academic credits, just one credit shy of passing what the school considers full-time.
The Native Coalition at SLCC – a group composed of Native American faculty and staff – spearheaded the tuition waiver, officially called the Native American Community Scholars and Fellowship Program. The waiver is open enrollment, meaning it can be applied at any time throughout the semester.
“It’s a pretty easy process,” said Winter Rex, a leader within the Native Coalition as well as SLCC’s success coordinator for Native students.
Applicants simply answer if they’re Native American and whether they plan to or are attending classes. They then upload documentation of a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (an official certificate showing tribal membership), which doesn’t need to belong to them, as applicants can also upload a certificate belonging to a parent or grandparent.
This point, Rex noted, differentiates SLCC’s waiver from a similar program at the University of Utah, which requires students to provide their own Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB). “Ours goes back two generations,” Rex said, adding that this eases the process for Native students born on a reservation who now live outside of it.
The waiver application, found on the SLCC website, asks for proof of Utah residency in addition to tribal affiliation. Although the site lists certain tribes and nations as eligible, Rex said a student from any tribe in the country can receive the waiver so long as they are a Utah resident. The waiver does not cover class fees.
Joey DuShane-Navanick, a SLCC sophomore and business major, is one student who received the waiver this semester. DuShane-Navanick is in the middle of taking his last two classes, and because of the waiver, his roughly $1,230 tuition was taken care of. He ended up only paying a couple hundred dollars in class fees.
“It helps that the application is digital. I don’t have to visit the financial aid office in person,” said DuShane Navanick. He went on to add, “It’s also great because Native Americans often … navigate [without] internet access or have to visit their tribe to get their CDIB. So, having it simple is great, I love it.”
The process of obtaining a personal CDIB can be difficult. Individuals seeking theirs must often return to their tribal lands or reservations, which can be anywhere in the country. The process then takes several weeks as the tribe’s vital statistics department draws up the document. The tribe chairman must also sign the document.
In his time at SLCC, DuShane-Navanick said he has seen many Native students resort to Pell Grants and other forms of federal help, or struggle with the process of financial aid (such as when tribal help leads to confusion among staff), often to no success.
“Having this opportunity is like a weight lifted from us … I think back to all the times I’ve seen Native students quit because they couldn’t afford it,” DuShane-Navanick said.
“I think about the possibilities,” he continued, “of what they could be and what they could contribute to our communities that need Native Americans going to college. Learning new things, bringing [them] back to the tribe, fostering education … and having the community benefit from that individual just being educated.”
To apply for the Native American Community Scholars and Fellowship Program, click here.
