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N.D. tribal
college receives online certification
Bismarck,
North Dakota - United Tribes Technical College has achieved
a higher education milestone. The college has received accreditation
to grant degrees to students who take all their classes online.
It's the first time a tribal college has been approved to
deliver degree-granting programs entirely through the use
of online, distance technology.
"We're
breaking new ground with this," said UTTC President David
M. Gipp. "We and other tribal colleges have offered individual
courses online for some time. This step is accreditation for
the full degree program online. We're pretty excited about
it."
Two
of UTTC's 14 associate degree programs, Early Childhood Education
and Injury Prevention, received accreditation from the North
Central Association of Colleges and Schools based in Chicago,
Illinois.
In
a letter to UTTC, Steven D. Crow, Executive Director of the
Association's Higher Learning Commission said, "the Institutional
Actions Council voted to extend your accreditation to include
distance delivery of the Early Childhood Education and Injury
Prevention programs." The action was validated November
21 by the commission's board of trustees, wrote Crow.
"Accreditation
is a voluntary process and a very important one," said
Leah Woodke, Director of UTTC Online and Distance Education.
"To receive accreditation is to be on a par with other
colleges. It validates the courses and program offerings,
ensures that students can transfer their coursework and that
their degrees will be recognized."
According
to Gipp, delivering classes online has expanded the access
to higher education for tribal students all across the country.
"Not all Native students can go to a tribal college or
come to Bismarck for classes on campus. By working online
the potential is there for earning an accredited UTTC degree
from even the most remote location in the country."
Online
courses at UTTC have evolved specifically to meet the needs
of tribal students, said Phil Baird, UTTC Dean of Vocational
and Academic Programs. The college shunned the use of pre-packaged
online programs and coursework and designed its own technology
platform for both academic instruction and student support
services.
"It's
very significant to us, and the tribal college movement, that
our systems and courses meet both the needs of our students
and the standards expected of higher education institutions
in this country," Baird said. The college is willing
to share its model for online and distance education with
other tribal colleges, he said.
According
to Woodke, UTTC plans to seek accreditation for granting Associate
of Applied Science degrees online in Health Information Technology,
Elementary Education, Nutrition and Food Service, and Criminal
Justice, all of which now offer courses online. North Central
currently accredits the college through 2010.
Information
about UTTC Online and campus based programs and courses can
be found at the website http://www.unitedtribestech.com..
Registration is now open for Spring Semester classes, which
begin January 8.
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