Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

land-grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

with three locations in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

: Macy on the

Omaha Tribe The Omaha ( Omaha-Ponca: ''Umoⁿhoⁿ'') are a federally recognized Midwestern Native American tribe who reside on the Omaha Reservation in northeastern Nebraska and western Iowa, United States. There were 5,427 enrolled members as of 2012. The ...

reservation, Santee on the

Santee Sioux The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...

reservation, and the urban South Sioux City.

History

Nebraska Indian Community College began in July 1973 as the American Indian Satellite Community College under a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-secondary Education. The grant was administered through Northeast Technical Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska, to provide post-secondary education on the Omaha,

, and the Winnebago reservations. In 1979, Nebraska Indian Community College established itself as a fully independent two-year college chartered by the governments of three Nebraska Indian Tribes following the enactment of the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act. In 1994, the college was designated a

land-grant college A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Signed by Abraha ...

alongside 31 other tribal colleges. In 1996 the Winnebago chartered the Little Priest Tribal College on its reservation. It is named after one of its notable chiefs and is open to students of other tribes as well.

Academics

NICC offers associate degrees in applied science, arts, and science, as well as certificates. The concentrations offered are carpentry, business, early childhood education, general liberal arts, human services, Native American studies (including a public and tribal administration minor), general science studies, paraeducator/pre-teacher certification, alcohol and drug counselling, business administration, community counselling, entrepreneurship, and pre-nursing. As of 2011, it is one of seven tribal colleges in the U.S. to offer a degree related to tribal administration.

Campus

The American Indian Satellite Community College established classrooms and administrative offices in communities on each reservation, with the central office located in Winnebago. In serving its clientele, Nebraska Indian Community College has made a variety of cultural, educational, and social resources available in isolated and economically underdeveloped areas. The college libraries at each campus are developing collections of resources important to the history and culture of each tribe, and the nation.

Governance

An eight-member board of directors governs NICC. In 1979, the schools of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, of which the Nebraska Indian Community College is a member, succeeded in persuading Congress to pass and fund Public Law 95-471, the Tribally Controlled Community College Act. Nebraska Indian Community College and other tribally controlled community colleges thus became eligible for direct funding from the federal government as land grant institutions. NICC established itself as a fully independent two-year college. It was granted a charter by the governments of each of the Indian tribes within Nebraska.American Indian Higher Education Consortium
In June 1981, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) approved the college for accreditation at the associate degree granting level. The institution was granted a charter by each of the three Nebraska Indian Tribes. A board of trustees composed of three members from each tribe was appointed by the individual Tribal Councils to govern the college. To reflect its independent status, the Board renamed the institution the Nebraska Indian Community College.

References

External links