Tiospaye in Engineering and Science: Inculcating a sustained culture for recruiting, retaining, and graduating American Indian students

While the general population of South Dakota is 10 percent American Indian, participation in higher education of this group in South Dakota universities remains relatively low, typically around 1.5 percent. Following best practices developed by American Indian educators and tribal colleges, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology has developed a new program, Tiospaye in Engineering and Science, which offers a new paradigm for recruitment and support for American Indian students. Following the Lakota word for extended family, Tiospaye, the program provides both scholarship support and positive intervention strategies through an extended campus network of support. The program features extensive classroom support through a combination of campus and small group tutoring sessions, designed within department advisors, and a program mentor that offers one-on-one academic advising and mentoring. In this paper, we describe the recruitment process, positive intervention strategies for academic success, and social support networks. We conclude with a discussion of the current status of the program and early assessment results.