HISTORY
Salish Kootenai College (SKC) began as a branch campus of Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC) occupying office space donated by Polson School District. In 1977, the college applied for membership in the new AIHEC (American Indian Higher Education Consortium) organization; then a consortium of 12 colleges. In 1981, the college separated from FVCC and formally called itself Salish Kootenai College. The first academic catalog (1979-1981) listed three degree and four certificate programs, 117 courses, and a total enrollment of 142 students. SKC became accredited in 1984, the first tribal college in the Northwest to accomplish the goal. In 1989, the registered nursing program was established, only the third in the nation at a tribal college. By its tenth year, the new catalog (1989-1991) identified six buildings, nine degree and five certificate programs, 310 courses, and 540 full-time students. The decade of the 90’s saw a ten-year accreditation in 1994.
CHARACTERISTICS
Total Enrollment: 1,204
% Admitted: open enrollment
% Pell Recipients Among Freshman: 82%
Retention Rate: 43%
Six-year Graduation Rate: 45.5%
INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY
The Qe es xuyi: Pathways to Success Program will develop a New Student Academic Orientation tied to a First Year Experience that supports students’ academic and social integration into the college. The program will introduce students to the College’s core academic competencies, college success skills, and academic support systems; provide a peer network and introduction to faculty and learning outcomes of the students’ chosen academic major, or a program of career exploration to promote identification with a major; build on students’ cultural strengths including responsibility to community through cultural and civic engagement; and increase student skills in areas such as financial literacy and alcohol resistance. Finally, the program will also increase institutional capacity to capture stories of student successes that document student outcomes and institutional successes.