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FORT YATES, N.D. (AP) — The tribal college on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in the Dakotas is getting a federal grant to maintain an academic support program that serves a large percentage of its students.
Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates is receiving $220,000 from the U.S. Department of Education for its TRIO Student Support Services program, The Bismarck Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/1PuOp4t ).
The program serves students who are the first in their family to attend college, as well as students with disabilities or those from low-income families. Funding goes toward academic coaches who help tutor students and to faculty who teach remedial classes, according to Koreen Ressler, the college's vice president of operations.
About 95 percent of the school's 300 students require remedial coursework to prepare them for college-level classes.
"Remedial courses don't count toward their degree plan, so they get discouraged," Ressler said.
Last year, students took both college and remedial English at the same time. Their remedial instructors sat in on their college-level classes and provided support for some assignments.
The school plans to continue the effort this year and will study data over the coming years to gauge its effectiveness, Ressler said.
The 3,600-square-mile reservation straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border.
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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com
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