Background
The United Tribes Technical College's mission is to serve Native American students who are from the five United Tribes in the Central Plains, a geographic area covering Colorado to Canada. Approximately 99% of the students are Native American, as are about half of the instructors. Currently, 300 students attend the College with the majority from outside North Dakota. There are slightly more female than male students, and the average student is between the ages of 25 to 34 with 1.5 children. In the fall of 2000, the College introduced a new degree program, an Associate in Applied Science in Computer Support and Technology. The degree includes Windows, Programming, and Networking. Students are required to complete an area of specialization - of which the Cisco Networking Academy Program is one of three options.

The Numbers
In the fall of 2000, the United Tribes conducted its first Cisco Networking Academy Program class with 16 students, and seven (44%) were women. All but one of the female students successfully completed the first semester, and five have been retained through semester three. This successful enrollment rate of female students was maintained in 2001 - 42% of the students were female.

How did United Tribes Technical College Networking Academy program successfully recruit and retain high school girls into Information Technology (IT) classes in this rural community?

Recruitment
Five hundred to one thousand seniors in thirty feeder high schools received a letter about the new Computer Support and Technology program, and they were invited to apply. The letter mentioned that students would qualify for "top jobs" in the field upon successful completion in the program. Additionally, a catalogue that included information on this new program was sent to guidance counselors. In North Dakota, IT employment prospects include the State's IT Department, Basin Electric Cooperative - an Internet Service Provider, computer manufacturing, and tribal gaming casinos, among other regional technology based companies.

Prerequisites
The only prerequisite for the Computer Support and Technology Program is baseline computer knowledge that is assessed through a placement test. Since many students come to the College directly from the Reservation, where resources are scarce, quite a few have little to no computer experience.

Success in the Classroom

"The key to retention is teaching students how to find the answer and how to rebound from their failures." -Bill Reynolds, Director of Computer Support Technology/Instructor

The instructor attributes his program's success in retention to the attention that the two instructors pay to the learning style of Native American students. While a standard class might be 90% lecture and 10% hands-on, his program reverses that ratio - typically there are only five to ten minutes of lecture in a one to two-hour class, the rest of the time is spent by the student performing activities.

"Native Americans learn best warm body to warm body," says Director Bill Reynolds, so classes are small, only ten students in each, enabling each one to receive an individualized education plan. Students who catch on quickly assist others, which helps them with their communication skills. Classes are also taught using circular tables, with five students in a "pod". This physical set up and the pod concept foster community, conversation, and a helping atmosphere.

Mr. Reynolds sees some gender differences among students in the lab portion of the Academy: for example, the female students aren't as prolific at "intense hands-on" such as programming a router - they want written directions and are dismayed to find that there are none. He assists them in learning the curriculum by having them practice "repetitive completion."

Contact
Bill Reynolds
Director of Computer Support Technology/Instructor
United Tribes Technical College
3315 University Drive
Bismarck, North Dakota 58504
breynolds@farscape.unitedtribestech.com
701-255-3285 ext. 412

School Web site
http://farscape.unitedtribestech. com