Source: OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRIBAL STUDENTS IN OREGON
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1033019
Grant No.
2024-70411-43322
Cumulative Award Amt.
$500,000.00
Proposal No.
2024-06847
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2024
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2028
Grant Year
2024
Program Code
[NBTS]- New Beginning for Tribal Students
Recipient Organization
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
CORVALLIS,OR 97331
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
This project supports Native American pre-college and college students attending Oregon State University (OSU) and Chemeketa Community College (CCC) in experiential learning, internships, and financial support directly relevant to the stated funding priority of the New Beginnings for Tribal Students grant - to increase student retention, graduation and workforce success rates for Native American students.Primary project objectives:1. strengthening the formal relationships between colleges and tribes through collaborative development of MOU's, and co-designed student engagement protocols informed by tribal goals and decolonizing methodologies;2. outreach education to pre-college Native youth to improve access and understanding of steps toward college entry, tuition, and cultural support resources on campus; and3. placement of Native college students in culturally-informed, mentored, paid internships with employers in forestry and natural resources.Supporting project elements include hiring a Program coordinator, integration of Ecampus for remote access, regular convening of a steering committee, scholarships, and participatory, culturally-responsive annual and ongoing program evaluation throughout the project period.OSU will work with primary CGI partner Chemeketa in this integrated education and extension project. Both schools have established working relationships with all (OSU) or some (Chemeketa) of the nine federally recognized tribes in the state of Oregon. While the project provides specific outreach and collaboration efforts focused on the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, any student identifying as Native American will potentially be eligible for project engagement.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90200010001100%
Knowledge Area
902 - Administration of Projects and Programs;

Subject Of Investigation
0001 - Administration;

Field Of Science
0001 - Administration;
Goals / Objectives
The project's aim to continue improving the long-term socio-economic conditions for Native American students and Tribes in Oregon through collaboratively designed recruitment and retention strategies directly aligns with the OSU Strategic Plan 4.0 2019-2023Vision (i.e., Leadership among land grant universities in the integrated creation, sharing and application of knowledge for the betterment of humankind), and Mission (i.e., As a land grant institution committed to teaching, research, and outreach and engagement, Oregon State University promotes economic, social, cultural, and environmental progress for the people of Oregon, the nation, and the world).
Project Methods
High Impact Engagement :Evidence shows that high-impact practices, such as mentored internships, a key project component, help students meet their educational and personal objectives, persist to degree completion, and develop skills and competencies needed in the workplace (AAC&U, 2007; Barefoot, 1992; Kuh 2008; Swaner & Brownell, 2009). The gains from participating in collaborative learning and research affect most levels of learning outcomes for students, including critical thinking, attitudes toward literacy, cognition skills, and intercultural effectiveness (Kilgo et al. 2015). Additionally, these practices help close the equity gap for traditionally underserved students (e.g., low income, underrepresented, first- generation, among others).Unfortunately, underserved students tend to participate less in high-impact practices than other student cohorts (Swaner & Brownell, 2009, Tachine 2022). Additionally, students that have engaged in a mentored relationship with a faculty member are more likely to succeed in higher education and gain benefits that extend into the workplace (Kuh, 2008; Gallup 2014). Swaner and Brownell (2009) note that mentored undergraduate research is a high-impact practice that may be intentionally applied to underserved students. Mentors help guide students into learning by discovery and inquiry, rather than more passive knowledge transfers from faculty to students. Research done by Jesse, Northup and Withington (2015) identified that high impact practices, and in particular participatory action research, maintained a high correlation with Native American student success. This finding aligns with traditional Indigenous methods of education which emphasize experiential learning, experimentation, and mentorship from community knowledge keepers.Student Success: Evidence of experiential learning impacts on retention and graduation rates are provided through OSU's Undergraduate Student Success Initiative. These results show how differentstudent cohorts compare when they participate and do not participate in experiential learning (EL) activities such as internships. Data from fall 2006 through fall 2012, show that graduation rates for all students who engaged in an internship were 25-29% higher than the entire OSU cohort. Historically Underrepresented Minority (HURS) students who participated in an internship had up to a 32% higher graduation rate than non-EL HURS students. Pell Grant students in EL programs (including but not limited to internship experiences) show 31-34% higher graduation rates than Pell students who did not participate. These indicators are not specific to Native American students, but they are strong indicators regarding the impacts of co-curricular experiences. OSU is in the process of developing more robust ways to track and report experiential learning by students and assessing all types of experiential learning. We will be using cohort-based models to evaluate how different learning activities differentially affect students and student identities. Therefore, more robust use of retention, progression, graduation, career readiness, student well-being, job placement and other indicators of success. We anticipate students who participate in culturally relevant experiences will be differentially impacted compared to other types of experiences (such as research).

Progress 09/01/24 to 08/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:12 OSU students participated in NBTS mentorships as they completed their 8-week+ summer internships. 3 OSU students supported in attending a multi-day science conferences. 30 pre-college students attended the Indigenous Youth Camp Aug. 10-15, 2025. 4 OSU students served as Indigenous Youth Camp mentors Aug. 10-15, 2025, with a zoom orientation training held July 27th. 3 CTLCUSI high school students participated in CTCLUSI's School to Work internship program working in Tribal governmental departments. The primary target audience for the OSU NBTS program includes self-identifying Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian undergraduate students in natural science programs. Once students apply and are accepted into the NBTS program, they select an approved mentor to work with for the summer. Mentors become part of the NBTS audience receiving the NBTS Mentor Guide and invitations to cohort meetings. Mentors are mostly OSU faculty, and may also include leaders of NGOs, and tribal members and tribal employees and employees of other governmental agencies. Some mentors serve more than one NBTS mentee. The secondary NBTS target audience are self-identifying Native American pre-college high school students. These youth attended the OSU ELY Indigenous Youth Camp held Aug. 10-15, 2025. These youth live in Oregon and were associated with various tribes from Oregon and across the US. This year we also had 5 pre-college youth participate in the youth camp through a new sponsored partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation in Washington state. In 2024, CTCLUSI agreed to use NBTS funding to support a School to Work program placing tribal member youth in internships with CTCLUSI Departments. This year 3 have been supported in School to Work internships. Changes/Problems:During this reporting period, we experienced several shifts in approach that required changes in staffing, partnerships, and implementation strategies. These were necessary to sustain project momentum and ensure that outcomes remained aligned with the goals of the New Beginnings for Tribal Students (NBTS) program, particularly supporting Indigenous high school students, undergraduates, and community partners in accessing and completing postsecondary education. Staffing Transitions and Role Clarification We hired a full-time coordinator to strengthen work with high school students, undergraduates, and on-campus faculty, with a focus on college access, persistence, and degree completion. While this has stabilized program delivery, recruitment and onboarding took longer than anticipated, creating delays in launching some planned student engagement activities. We also experienced turnover in Co-PI's and needed to redistribute duties temporarily across faculty and graduate assistants. These staffing transitions impacted the original schedule but ultimately allowed us to realign responsibilities more sustainably. Partnership Expansion and Alignment The project expanded to include new partners, specifically Chemeketa Community College and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. While highly positive, this expansion required a shift in approach. Significant time was invested in relationship-building, aligning curriculum, and co-developing internship models with these new partners. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three OSU Indigenous students received support to attend science conferences. One student went to the Sea Otter Workshop XIV in Seattle March 21-24, 2025. Another attended American Indian Science and Engineering Society conference in San Antonio, Texas, October 3-6, 2024, where they presented their summer research findings. Another student attended the 152nd American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting in Hawaii, September 14 - 20, 2024. One OSU student served as a student ambassador on the steering committee for the school year. They attended meetings and helped the coordinator with outreach recruitment on campus. Pre-college youth participating in the CTCLUSI School to Work program are receiving hands-on professional development in the lab at the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?OSU's NBTS program goals and outcomes are presented to the larger CTCLUSI community attending the Collaborative Meetings. Each fall, the annual NBTS Evaluation Report draft is shared with the Steering Committee for review. ? What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, NBTS is expected to grow as there will be a full-time visible presence on campus working directly with NBTS students and coordinating campus tours designed for pre-college youth.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? OSU's NBTS program supports undergrad students in summer mentorships while they complete internships in various positions related to natural resources. These internships have all been paid positions and often require students to live away from home for the duration. Once the student NBTS application is approved, the coordinator may help students with finding an internship, and pairs interns with a mentor for the summer. In 2025, interns chose their own mentors that were then vetted by the coordinator. NBTS students and their mentors are invited to participate in 3 summer cohort meetings facilitated by the coordinator. A total of 12 OSU students and 9 mentors have participated in the summer 2025 mentorships cohort for NBTS. 2) Supporting project elements include contracting of Program Coordinators, integration of Ecampus for remote access, regular convening of a steering committee, scholarships, and participatory, culturally-responsive annual and ongoing program evaluation throughout the project period.? Quarterly meetings of the NBTS steering committee were held each season, and the youth camp planning sub-committee met monthly beginning in January. Ecampus is well represented on the steering committee and helps get the word out to remote students. Ecampus students have participated as interns and on discussion panels for the zoom seminars. OSU NBTS scholarship stipends have been awarded to 9 OSU students receiving $2000 each. Each fall following a grant year the OSU NBTS coordinator has produced an annual program evaluation report in response to the NBTS evaluation plan drafted in year 1 and modified in year 2. An additional, informative support for the NBTS program are Collaborative Meetings with CTCLUSI members. Each winter, NBTS coordinators convene hybrid or in-person Collaborative Meetings with the CTCLUSI community at large. These meetings include food, cultural activities and prizes as well as a time to be social and discuss topics around higher education. The purpose of the meetings is for NBTS staff to share program goals and progress with the Tribe, and to ask for input and guidance to the program overall. This feedback helps inform the NBTS program, for example, by providing some guidance to mentors in working with Indigenous students. In 2025, two Collaborative Meetings were held in April and 11 surveys completed.

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