The Native student journey at tribal colleges and universities is imperative to impacting Native student success nationally. Through the Cultivating Native Student Success initiative, an Indigenous approach to strategic enrollment management (SEM) is considered in this publication by TCUs to broaden SEM practices across higher education. By Indigenizing SEM and building capacity centered on the unique cultural values inherent in tribal colleges and universities, we can increase American Indian and Alaska Natives visibility, representation, and degree attainment in higher education.
About This Work
Lisa Silverstein, Ph.D., Senior Program Officer, TCU Capacity for Student Success, oversees and supports programming in education pathways from high school through to college completion and the greater strategic enrollment management programming at the College Fund. She earned her bachelor’s in public health, master’s in education, and Ph.D. in education studies and research, focusing on developmental education and retention, sense of belonging, and student and faculty voice in community colleges. Her research includes the study of higher education staff and faculty development, college access, retention, and strategic enrollment management. She is a peer reviewer for Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and serves as a consultant for community colleges focused on adult learner supports. She served as the principal investigator for a Minority Serving Institution Student Success Initiative grant, working closely with HSIs, HBCUs, and TCUs, directed and led guided pathways programming, initiated an accelerated developmental education learning communities and faculty development program, and served as a representative on the state of Colorado’s developmental redesign team. As a faculty member in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Denver, Silverstein worked with preservice teachers, and was a team member on a community college and university partnership to support Colorado rural communities in building their K–12 teacher workforce.
Tiffany Gusbeth, a citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, is Vice President of Student Success Services at the American Indian College Fund. Tiffany leads scholarships, college access, career readiness, student engagement, strategic enrollment management, and the development of an organizational student and program management database. Gusbeth’s expertise is in financial aid, college access, and Native student success in postsecondary environments. She was recognized by the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) as an inaugural fellow in their “Leading for Equity” fellowship program, designed for excellent executive leaders of color in higher education.
Jonathan Breaker, MPPA (Blackfoot/Cree), TCU Student Success Program Officer, is an enrolled member of Siksika Nation and works with a team of TCUs in their strategic enrollment management planning. He received his bachelor’s in sociology and master’s in public policy and administration. Breaker is a fellow of the AACRAO Strategic Enrollment Management Endorsement Program (SEM-EP). He worked for the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) as assistant director of admissions and as continuing education manager. Prior to that, he worked in public service for the government of Canada in various roles advising on Indigenous issues and programs, cultural policy, international relations, and Indigenous rights and consultation.