The purpose of this study was to explore the postsecondary education transition experiences of graduates of Choctaw Central High School (CCHS) who received support from the Tribal Scholarship Program (TSP) to better understand the barriers to successful postsecondary completion and the means to overcoming those barriers. Successful transitions are key for students to persist to academic completion. Studies show that American Indian students have low rates of college completion and experience a variety of factors attributed to withdrawal from college. This study provided insight into college success experienced by American Indian students and an understanding of the opportunities for a college education their scholarship program provides. Suggestions for improving the preparation of students and operation of the scholarship program are offered. The participants in this study were CCHS graduates who received support from the TSP for postsecondary education. A case study with a survey component research design was used in this study. Data from a cross-sectional survey, interviews, and observations were collected. A total of 87 past and present TSP supported students participated as survey respondents. Purposeful sampling in the form of maximum variation was used to select 6 respondents for researcher conducted interviews. The findings of this study documented four themes that characterized the transition experience of respondents to postsecondary education. Additionally, within these themes three general barriers to successful postsecondary completion were revealed. The general barriers included: (a) racial conflict with peers or faculty, (b) being overwhelmed academically, and (c) having to care for a legal dependent. The themes and barriers are discussed in the context of three primary factors related to postsecondary completion for American Indian students: sociocultural, academic, and personal factors. Recommendations included: (a) assessing and addressing the unique needs of nontraditional students in the Tribal Scholarship program, (b) arranging for an after hour study and tutoring facility for Tribal Scholarship Program students who commute from the reservation to college, (c) beginning orientation to the Tribal Scholarship Program with 9th graders, (d) providing on-campus mentoring opportunities for Tribal Scholarship Program participants, and (e) expanding this research to public school graduates who participate in the Tribal Scholarship Program.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the rate at which community college transfer students graduate from the 4 year college and what variables can be used to explain the corresponding graduation rates. In addition, the study attempted to answer the identical question regarding the rate at which native students graduate from the 4 year college and the variables that can be used to explain the native student graduate rates. Finally, the study made comparisons between the community college transfer student variables that explained the corresponding graduation rates and the native student variables that explained their corresponding graduation rates to determine if differences existed between the two groups. The data collected on the community college transfer and native students at Mississippi State University was analyzed in a two-group logistical regression. For each group, a logistical regression was built, that included the independent variables of the student demographic characteristics (age, gender, race and academic discipline) and the ability measures/lower-level academic success measures (ACT/SAT test score, high school grade point average and lower level college grade point average). The results from the logistical regression for the transfer and native students were compared. Delta-Ps, the change in predicted probability, were calculated for each independent variable and then compared for transfer and native students. The conclusions of the study were the following native students appear to be better prepared to graduate than community college transfer students, the lower-level grade point average and number of lower-level credit hours earned appear to consistently explain the rates of graduation for both groups, as these two variables were significant for both groups. Transfer and native students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) category appear to be less prepared to graduate or encounter more obstacles to graduate than students in the other academic discipline categories. Running separate logistic models for each academic discipline category was effective in assessing the particular variables that impact graduation for the community college transfer and native students.

Randomly selected Native American families eligible to receive commodity foods were provided cameras to take pictures of visual responses in the areas of: 1) primary food purchases, 2) family use of food, 3) family activities and information access, and 4) future goals of the family. Using a focus-group format, participants chose five pictures that represented the group’s consensual responses. Selected pictures and meaning were analyzed using thematic analysis procedures. Twelve families completed the project. There were four major themes: 1) the importance of family and the Native-American community, 2) health of individual and family including extended family as it pertains to physical, social, emotional and economic stability, 3) spiritual beliefs and its impact on family’s morals and values, and 4) economic constraints of daily living activities. Aspects of the social-marketing campaign should address the entire family including extended family and must be culturally and economically specific to limited-resource families.

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