Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA
(N/A)
RENO,NV 89557
Performing Department
Cooperative Extension
Non Technical Summary
This project provides the unique opportunity for UNR's College of Agriculture, Biotechnology, and Natural Resources (CABNR) and UNR College of Engineering faculty to partner with UNR Student Services to support American Indian students in the United States, and specifically, at the University of Nevada, Reno - A Land Grant University. The overarching goal of the proposed project is to Empower American Indian Youth to Complete a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree and Consider a Graduate Program at Nevada's Land-Grant University. The short term goals are: a) to increase the number of American Indian students graduating in food systems or agriculture; b) provide living stipends for the Indigneous Students Living Learning Community; c) provide a comfortable and supportive environment where American Indian students can thrive; d) connect with tribal educational departments for college preparation; and e) work with a UNR graduate student and his Ph.d project to build future pathways for American Indian graduate students. The project proposes that the most effective way to address and reverse the decrease in retention for American Indian students is to have dedicated staff, faculty, and mentoring to support this student population. Mentorship and culture-based retreats are two strategies that have the capacity to support the recruitment and retention of American Indians students at the University that we will use in this program. Evaluation of the program will occur through student interviews, surveys, and workforce placement once a student leaves the program.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal of the proposed project is to Empower American Indian Youth to Complete a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree and Consider a Graduate Program at Nevada's Land-Grant University. The short term goals are: a) to increase the number of American Indian students graduating in food systems or agriculture; b) provide living stipends for the Indigneous Students Living Learning Community; c) provide a comfortable and supportive environment where American Indian students can thrive; d) connect with tribal educational departments for college preparation; and e) work with a UNR graduate student and his Ph.d project to build future pathways for American Indian graduate students. The supporting objectives under the project are to build self-efficacy and provide encouragement to youth, young adults, non-traditional students, and first-generation students to begin their educational attainment at a land grant university. This program is designed for American Indians who want to attend the land-grant right out of high school, and for American Indian students who want to attend or transfer into the University of Nevada, Reno to earn a Bachelor's Degree. The specific project objectives are to:Recruit American Indian students to attend Nevada's land-grant institution directly out of high schoolA recruitment plan will be designed and implemented through Nevada Tribal Education departments with the assistance of the tribal collaborator;Potential high school students will attend UNR retreats beginning in their junior high school year to provide college preparation assistance; andRelationships will be built between UNR, tribal education departments and faculty at the land-grant instiution.Create an American Indian mentoring program for American Indian students; An overall dedicated project mentor will be provided for American Indian students attending a degree program within the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources;A tutoring and support plan will be created for each student receiving a tuition scholarship; andA student retreat for American Indian college students at UNR will be held twice a year to discuss long-term personal goals, career goals, identify successes and challenges of students, and enhance self-efficacy.Provide Tuition Scholarships.Students will apply to the scholarship through a scholarship application process. Within the application, proof of American Indian/Native American lineage will be required. This can be in the form of a tribal card, family tree, or census documents provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Additionally, there will be an essay prompt (maximum 500 characters) requesting applicants to explain why they feel the scholarship is needed and how the scholarship will assist with their future ambitions.The selection committee will then review applications and decide on recipients. The selection committee will be comprised of 2 represenatives from Nevada Tribes, the project team, and one tribal community member at large. Candidate selection will be based on a holistic evaluation of student community involvement, barriers, and/or any other relevant rationale for the student to receive the scholarship.Requirements for the five yearly tuition awards are the following:Complete 30 credits per year. These 30 credits can also be accumulated during the winter and/or summer terms at either college,Maintain good academic standing of at least 2.0 GPA,Meet with their campus academic coach twice a semester,Meet with the project mentor weekly to bi-weekly,Complete Federal Student Aid (FAFSA; available every Oct. 1st ) if the student is able to do so.Develop Education/Teaching Ph.D Tribal Project for experiential learning of high school students.Support a Ph.D graduate student to complete his Ph.D project with the Reno/Sparks Indian Colony (a community-based project) and use this project as a recruitment tool and an experiental learning model to create pathways into graduate education.Encourage American Indian undergraduate to pursue graduate educationCollaboration and relationship building between tribes and the la
Project Methods
The biggest challenge to this project will be securing full financial assistance for the students. The team currently has a funded project and will leverage that award with this proposal to better meet Native American student needs, especially the LLC and the graduate student to support the project. With UNR moving more toward online and flex courses due to COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, there is more opportunity for students to access education, but the opportunity will be lost upon them without strong mentorship. Other students are determined to have an in-person learning environment. From focus group data collected with tribal youth two years ago, we know it is imperative that students get the financial aid support necessary to find that successful pathway forward, especially in those situations that involve out-of-state tuition. This means that there must be financial aid or a work-study program from the university and/or tribe to support lodging, books, meal expenses, and other day-to-day living expenses. The project staff will work comprehensively with tribal education departments and the University to determine if students can qualify for additional support. In addition, this proposal will make mentoring available tostudents who do not have a scholarshipStudent cohorts involved in this training opportunity will also have the opportunity to assist an Extension team, working with the Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program, to provide education, training, and disseminate information to Indian agriculture producers. Student Cohorts can also be actively involved in the College of Engineering water project with the Reno/Sparks Indian Colony. The faculty and graduate student will mentor students to enable them to work with Indian producers and tribal staff. Students can be specifically involved with the Extension outreach and programming and we are working through the college (CABNR) to be able to offer student internships for credit. This will provide hands-on experience to students. A suitable project could be to assist the school with organizing an agricultural day that highlights agriculture on the reservation. The hands-on projects will be highlighted at the retreats where students will be encouraged to develop a poster presentation. In addition, the projects, internships and hands-on training will be matched to the skill level and interest of the student to build self-esteem and encourage agriculture (but not limited to agriculture) as a profession. The mentor will ensure that students are working with tribes or tribal staff and are supported by faculty when needed under the already funded NAAF agriculture-related project.The students will be encouraged to start a career in Indian agriculture and be given experience interacting with an Indian beginning producer, a tribal staff member, and a USDA employee offering assistance to the reservation or an employee of non-profit or other entities furthering the sustainability of Indian agriculture. The team will reapply for the Native American Agriculture Foundation (NAAF) in the spring of 2021 to continue additional tuition scholarship support and travel to national and regional Indian agricultural meetings for students in the program.The management plan for this integrated project includes collaborative partnerships between land-grant university faculty, Nevada Indian Commission, Nevada Department of Education, Walker River Paiute Tribe Education Department, and agents of the reservation under the Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program. This project will kick off with launching scholarship applications and tracking existing and new students in the land-grant system, as they are the most likely applicant pool. Overall program oversight will be the responsibility of PI Staci Emm. The mentor will reach out students already in the system, develop recruiting plans with the part-time recruiter, identify retention strategies, and work with the project team to build upon the systems already in place to support American Indian students. Other project team members will contribute in areas of their expertise as outlined below, while also providing support and input to the project in all areas.The project partnerships will ensure that the perspectives and community cultural issues of students living on a reservation are taken into consideration when implementing this project. The project team will work with collaborators and ask for feedback through various evaluations including focus groups, pre-and post-test surveys, follow-up surveys and photos. The results of these evaluations will drive the project and adjust the overall project system as necessary.