by Mark Schaaf
Daily Lobo
Student Sherrick Roanhorse said he attended DinÇ College in Tsaile, Ariz., for one year and knows that moving on to a larger university can be a big transition.
"Reducing barriers is crucial to a college student's success, particularly Native American students," he said. "Often, students don't succeed in college because they don't have support."
But with a partnership between DinÇ College and UNM in the works, that transition may become a little easier.
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Officials from UNM and DinÇ College met on April 13 to take steps to allow students enrolled in the two-year DinÇ College to come to UNM to complete a four-year degree.
DinÇ College wants courses in areas such as DinÇ studies and the Navajo language to transfer to UNM, said Pamela Agoyo, special assistant to the president on American Indian Affairs at UNM.
"Now that we sort of have a handle on the kinds of areas they want us to focus on, we're going to take steps to formalize those things," Agoyo said. She said she anticipates finalizing the details before the next tribal summit in 2007.
Roanhorse said DinÇ College gives students academic and cultural support to succeed at larger universities such as UNM.
He said his time at the college helped build confidence and improved his writing skills, and the partnership will improve the transition for Navajo students.
UNM staff member Tiffany Lee, a Navajo, said both institutions will benefit.
"I am enormously pleased to see that UNM is partnering with DinÇ College," she said. "This partnership will be able to spell out those specific needs and also the strengths that DC students bring to UNM."
DinÇ College has eight locations in northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona, serving members of the Navajo Nation.
After a meeting with tribal leaders in February, Agoyo said DinÇ requested a meeting on its Tsaile, Ariz., campus to discuss a possible partnership with UNM.
The UNM contingent, led by Board of Regents member Sandra Begay-Campbell, got to experience some of the Navajo traditions, such as a prayer service the morning they arrived.
"We were learning from the time we got off the bus," Begay-Campbell said. "On a personal level, it was very exciting and rewarding to have the UNM administration experience what it's like to be part of the Navajo traditions."
UNM has also offered five $2,000 scholarships to DinÇ College students.
Lee said partnerships between tribal colleges and four-year universities ensure students' success when they make the transition.
"UNM has tremendous resources for Native students, but tribal college students have specific needs," she said.
Some of those needs, Lee said, include transferring credit and help with financial and family responsibilities. She added that while the partnership helps students, it also adds to UNM's diversity.
"More participation from DC students at UNM will invigorate the overall student climate at the University tremendously," she said.
In addition to transferable credit, DinÇ College is seeking UNM's help in developing the DinÇ Policy Institute, an effort put forth by the Navajo Nation government to study different types of law. Agoyo said UNM will be sharing research ideas and techniques with the institute.
DinÇ College is also trying to establish four-year programs in elementary education, Navajo language and Navajo studies.
