In 1960 the United States Office of Education sponsored a two year research study entitled Higher Education of Southivestern Indians with Reference to Success and Failure (USOE Project 938). This article is a surmary of this study. The study was directed by G. D. McGrath, Robert Roessel, Bruce Meador, G. C. Helmstadter, and John Barnes.

1. To assess the current status of the Indian in higher education including such factors as the number of southwestern colleges involved, the number of Indian students enrolled, the number of Indian drop-outs, and the problem areas identified.

2. To determine what institutions of higher education in the Southwest are doing in special programs for Indian Education, what they plan to do and what they believe should be done.

3. To determine what the various Indian tribes in the Southwest are doing in the area of Indian Education, what they plan to do, and what they believe should be done.

4. To determine what specific factors should be taken into consideration when awarding scholarships to Indian students.

5. To determine the types of scholarships available to Indian students and to ascertain numbers awarded, monies expended and procedures used in awarding scholarships.

6. To determine factors related to the success and failure of Indian students in college.

7. To ascertain possible factors which appear to be reliable predictors of academic success of Indian students in college.

1. Review of the literature indicated that Indian students who are most successful in higher education have committed themselves to learning and to accepting the dominant culture or have been completely identified with white society.

2. Generally speaking, there has been a steady increase in the number of scholarships awarded to Indian students attending school in the Southwest

3. Generally speaking, there has been a steady increase in the amount of money expended on scholarships for Indian students.

4. A total of 15 college Indian education courses was reported by Southwestern institutions. (Each of these courses included the word "Indian" in the course title.) Twelve of the 15 were offered at Arizona State University.

5. Very little comprehensive research has been done in the field of Indian Education. However, there has been a great deal of anthropological and sociological research involving Indians. In light of the exploding Indian population and perplexing problems facing Indians, it is felt that much more research needs to be directed at the broad area of Indian Education.

6. This study identified only five cases of financially sponsored research in the area of Indian Education. Two were reported as completed and three were reported in progress.

7. Indian clubs play an important role in colleges and universities enrolling a number of Indian students. Ten of the 43 southwestern institutions of higher learning have active Indian clubs on campus. In almost every case, membership is not restricted to Indians but is open to any interested student.

8. Nine colleges and universities provided a special guidance and counseling service for Indian students. Three institutions provide released time for faculty members to provide this service.

9. Three colleges provide a tutoring service for Indian students.

10. Many colleges and universities have made their services available to the tribes and to schools enrolling Indian students, as illustrated by the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Arizona State College, Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Ft. Lewis A & M, and the University of New Mexico.

11. The five southwestern institutions with the largest Indian enrollments were Arizona State College, Arizona State University, Brigham Young University, Fort Lewis A & M, and the University of New Mexico. These five schools enrolled 70 per cent of all Indian students in schools identified by this study in the four state area.

12. Fifteen of the 37 tribes studied do assist members who go to college in several different ways:

13. Fifteen of the tribes have formal education committees. Seven tribes have scholarship committees.

14. Four of the tribes who do not have scholarship programs indicated that such programs are being planned and will start soon. No southwestern tribe ever started and later discontinued a scholarship program.

15. Education committees provide a variety of functions. Among their more frequent services are:

16. Five tribes promote summer youth programs. These are the Navajo, Jicarilla Apache, White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache and Utah Ute tribes.

17. Interviews were conducted with 60 tribal leaders representing the thirty-seven tribes included in this study.

18. Seventy-three per cent of the tribal leaders interviewed identified education as a crucial problem facing American Indians today. Education was mentioned more frequently than any other problem. Employment was the second most frequently identified problem.

19. All tribes without any assistance programs for higher education gave inadequate funds as a reason for non-assistance. Half of the tribal leaders interviewed felt that a tribe with limited financial resources might assist more of its members to go to college by identifying all possible scholarship sources. This was the most frequently mentioned answer to the problem.

20. Thirty-five per cent of the tribal leaders declared that scholarship recipients should return and render service to the tribe while 55 per cent said that they should not be required to do so.

21. Eighty-seven per cent of those interviewed expressed dissatisfaction with the number of Indian students who go to college. Only 10 per cent indicated satisfaction.

22. The three major reasons for college drop-outs as identified by southwestern tribal leaders were:

23. The four major ways to help Indian students succeed better in college as identified by tribal leaders were:

24. During the period of study (September 1958 through January 1962), 416 Indian in-school students were identified in 27 southwestern colleges and universities.

25. During the same period 237 drop-outs were identified.

26. The Indian students attending colleges and universities in the Southwest represented 89 tribes, 37 of which are in the Southwest. Two hundred thirty-three were Navajo, 30 were Hopi, and 19 were members of Laguna Pueblo. These three tribes had the largest representation.

27. The Indian student is more dependent on scholarships than the non-Indian. Eighty-one per cent of the Indians and 20 per cent of the non-Indians received scholarships.

28. Considering only those Indians in school who received a scholarship, 46 per cent had a tribal scholarship, 21 per cent received a Bureau of Indian Affairs scholarship, 19 per cent received a scholarship from the college they attended, 16 per cent received a scholarship from some other source such as a religious organization or foundation and 3 per cent had a business or industry scholarship.

29. Only 26 out of the 402 Indians in school, for whom grade point averages were available, had a grade average of 2.75 or higher. Twelve of these 26 students were from southwestern tribes.

30. Thirty-five per cent of the Indians in school had less than a "C" average (2.00).

31. On standardized tests the Indians scored lower than the national norms in all areas, on all tests, except on the numerical, abstract reasoning, clerical, and spelling sub-tests of the Differential Aptitude Test.

32. Economic and social variables were not related to grades.

33. Cultural and academic variables were related to grades.

34. Facility with the English language seems to be of even greater importance for success in college among Indians than it is among non-Indians.

35. There seems to be a definite, but not striking, tendency for students who come from homes where English is never spoken to do better in college than the students from the other categories.

36. Forty-one per cent of the students from homes where English is not spoken received a grade point average of 2.0 or better. Thirty-two per cent, 31 per cent, and 35 per cent respectively of students from homes where English is spoken "some," "usually," and "always" received a grade point average of 2.0 or better.

37. The middle third of the high school graduating class did not achieve in college as well, on the average, as those from the lower or upper third of their graduating class.

38. Test scores which were predictive of success in college involved a verbal and/or reading component.

39. College instructors’ ratings all showed some relationship to college grades whether concerned with academic or personality traits.

40. One-half of the Indian students in college were freshmen. Sixty-four per cent of the Indians and 57 per cent of the non-Indians had a course load of 15 or more semester hours.

41. The Indian reported that he spent more time outside of class preparing for his school work than the non-Indian. The mean number of hours of study for the Indian was 16 to 20 hours per week while for the non-Indian it was 11 to 15 hours per week.

42. The Indian reported spending a great deal more time in the library than the non-Indian. Thirty-three per cent of the Indians and four per cent of the non-Indians spent more than seven hours a week in the library.

43. Thirty-two per cent of the Indians in school and two per cent of the non-Indians had been on academic probation.

44. Significant differences between the in-school Indians and Indian drop-outs were found in these areas: the drop-out was more likely to have been born on a reservation; he was more likely to have spent all his years in an elementary school on a reservation; he was more likely to come from a larger family; his father was older and less well educated; he was more likely to have completed one and one-half to three units of vocational subjects in high school; he was more inclined to discuss only academic problems with his college instructors; he was more inclined to be rated by his college instructors as less neat or indifferent to personal appearance than the typical student; he was inclined to study less and to spend less time in the library; and he was more likely to be placed by his college instructors on the undesirable end of scales which rated ability to do independent work, interest in classroom instruction, quality of classroom comments, dependability, self-confidence, perseverance in school work, soundness of decisions, and ability to express oneself in oral or written English.

45. There was a slight tendency for full blooded Indians to be less successful in college than those of mixed blood.

46. Married students were more likely to get higher grade point averages than were single students.

47. The student’s age was significantly related to grade point average in a positive direction suggesting that the older the student is, the better chance he has of making satisfactory grades in college.

1. Since the findings of the study indicated that high school rank in class is only slightly related to college grade point average, the following factors should be considered when awarding scholarships:

2. Since college grade point average and finances do not appear to be related, other factors than finances, such as those mentioned above, should be given primary emphasis in awarding scholarships.

3. Since tribal leaders and scholarship granting agencies frequently identified inadequate high school preparation as a reason for Indian college drop-out, high schools enrolling Indians should carefully and thoroughly examine their academic programs to determine whether they are meeting the needs of the academically talented Indian.

4. Since evidence collected from college instructors revealed that students described by their instructors as being able to complete assignments without individual assistance did better than those described as requiring help more often than not, high schools enrolling Indians should provide positive assistance to develop independent study habits for the college-bound student.

5. Since the findings of the research revealed that cultural problems faced by Indian college students differentiate between success and failure of Indian students, colleges should make a determined effort to assist in the identification and resolution of these cultural problems.

6. Since there is a high relationship between willingness to express oneself and success in college, high schools should provide as much opportunity and encouragement as possible toward self-expression on the part of Indian students.

7. Since high school rank in class is only slightly related to college grade point average, high schools should re-examine their evaluation practices, particularly with regard to the average or below average student.

8. Since test scores on verbal and language components are highly related to predicting college success, elementary and high schools enrolling Indian students should critically examine their English programs so as to determine the areas of difficulty and what can be done to improve the programs at all levels.

9. Since facility with the English language seems to be of even greater importance for success in college among Indians than it is among non-Indians, all schools enrolling Indians should expand their efforts and experiment with ways to teach English more effectively to Indian students.

10. Since the findings of the study revealed that tribal leaders often have limited contact with institutions of higher learning and frequently were unfamiliar with available programs and services, colleges and universities should expand their efforts to communicate with and serve those tribes in their area.

11. Since Indian students are more dependent on scholarships than are the non-Indians, all scholarship granting agencies (state, federal, tribal, private, etc.) should extend and expand their efforts so as to make available scholarships for all qualified students.

12. Since there seems to be a definite, but not striking tendency for Indian students who come from homes where English is never spoken to do better than students who come from homes where English is spoken, further research is needed to determine the reason for this perplexing fact.

13. Since tribal leaders and scholarship granting agencies frequently mentioned the need for qualified high school and college counselors for Indian students, those institutions with large Indian enrollments should provide a counselor who has had ideally both professional guidance certification and also a thorough understanding of Indian culture.

14. Since certain tribes with substantial scholarship programs do not have readily available adequate records concerning their scholarships, every tribe with a program should keep complete and up-to-date records. These records should include: number of grants, size and range of grants, sex of recipients, colleges attended, current curriculum and cumulative grade point average, number of drop-outs, and others.

15. Since the findings revealed that Southwestern tribes have recognized both the value and need for education, all tribes should provide for a tribal education committee as a part of tribal government. Tribes need an active and enlightened body which has as its primary responsibility, education. The education committee must bridge the old and the new and must be able to communicate effectively with both the traditional and progressive elements of the Tribe.

16. Since tribal leaders declared that many Indian college students do not receive adequate encouragement from home, every tribe should develop a program whereby the tribe can provide a maximum amount of encouragement at the tribal level as a partial substitute for inadequate parental encouragement. This may be done through the education committee or some other branch of tribal government.

17. Since tribal leaders and scholarship granting agencies frequently mentioned the lack of understanding on the part of teachers as a factor contributing to the lack of success of Indians in education, tribes and institutions of higher learning should combine their efforts and help prepare teachers, and others dealing with Indians, to have an understanding of Indian culture.

18. Since the findings of the study indicated that parental pressure does not seem to lead to higher college achievement, Indian students themselves should be convinced about the value of higher education. It is felt that the tribe, school, and the home can help the student understand the significance of education.

19. Since education was identified by tribal leaders as the major problem facing southwestern Indians, every tribe should examine critically its educational plans and programs to determine whether such programs adequately reflect the high position education enjoys in tribal thinking.

20. Since several institutions within the Southwest have developed rather extensive programs in the area of Indian Education, such institutions should cooperate closely with other colleges and universities and share the results of their research and services. It is felt that some organization could be created, composed of colleges and universities with substantial numbers of Indian students or with substantial interest in Indian Education, and this organization could meet at regular intervals and have some medium of communication.

21. Since Indian students may not have an accurate picture of what college entails, they should be told how many hours of preparation outside of class and in the library may be necessary to succeed in college. The high school and the college must share this responsibility and prepare the student by informing him what is necessary for success in college.

22. Since grades are the direct evidence of success in college, scholarship granting agencies should give primary attention, when considering renewals, to college grades and not to indirect measures such as test scores, instructors’ ratings, or information from biographic inventories.

23. Since the findings of this study demonstrated that Indian college students often have particular difficulty in English, colleges and universities with substantial numbers of Indian students should provide all possible assistance in the area of English.