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Here is a brief look at three existing tribal colleges:

Ilisagvik College, Barrow

"We had strong support from the local government, with the local government having a strong stake in higher education opportunities for their residents," said college President Edna Ahgeak MacLean. "They were hungry for it."

MacLean said Ilisagvik College offers an associate's degree that is transferable to the University of Alaska system, associate's degrees in vocational education fields and other programs in fields such as emergency medical services and teacher education.

Over the years the education center evolved into a community college, with the name changing to Ilisagvik in 1991. Governance of the college was transferred to a board of trustees in 1995.

In the mid-1990s, facing potential state budget cuts, Ilisagvik joined with tribal college efforts from around the state under a Kellogg Foundation grant that worked to develop statewide tribal college organization.

"After getting a taste of what it meant to have higher education opportunities, we didn't want to be left out in the cold," she said.

The budget cuts never came, but Ilisagvik continues to collaborate with other state tribal college efforts. It serves about 400 students each semester.

The college is housed, in part, in buildings that used to be the Naval Arctic Research Facility.

Interior Athabascan Tribal College, Fairbanks

The Interior Athabascan Tribal College was started by a 1992 resolution of the Tanana Chiefs Conference.

"It's a small institution, more of an education center," said Coordinator Dave Waldo. "We're trying to fill a niche. ... We really want to enhance the educational opportunities that are already being provided."

IATC, which is not accredited, collaborates with accredited institutions such as the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Waldo said this allows IATC students to get credit for classes, and it allows the larger institutions to have better access to Native populations.

Waldo said one of the most successful programs offered by IATC is a Tribal

Government Seminar Series, with short courses on topics including tribal court training, Native land issues and basic Indian law for Alaska Tribes.

Other programs include an Athabascan language program for educators and a collaboration with the Coast Guard to train students for freshwater guiding.

Waldo said the school is also working with UAF to develop a forest technology associate's degree and certificate.

IATC serves about 150 students in some capacity each year.

IATC, like the Southeast Alaska Tribal College, is also exploring the possibility of establishing a grades 11-14 tribal charter school - bridging high school to college - targeted at students who have dropped out or may be having difficulty passing the newly instituted Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Exam.

Northwest Indian College, Bellingham, Wash.

Northwest Indian College, headquartered on the Lummi Indian Reservation near Bellingham, traces its roots back three decades.

The fully accredited school started as a Lummi tribal institution, but has expanded through satellite campuses and distance education to serve the entire Washington-Oregon-Idaho region.

"Our mission is to serve any interested tribes in the Northwest," said college President Barbara Roberts.

Roberts said the college is a two-year institution, granting vocational degrees and two-year "direct transfer" degrees for students who want to continue their college studies.

"We have an agreement with the other colleges and universities in Washington state that if our students complete that direct transfer degree, they are automatically accepted at the junior level," she said.

Roberts said there is a strong push to connect the courses to students' backgrounds and lives. Examples include a public admin-

istration program that includes tribal self-governance issues, as well as courses in tribal legal studies.

"We are really working hard to make the curriculum culturally relevant, (to see) that the courses have a connection to the tribes," she said.