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Family-Friendly Tribal and Rural Campuses: A Knowledge Exchange to Support Student Caregivers at Tribal Colleges and Universities

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Students with caregiving responsibilities—including raising children or supporting elders and other family members—make up more than 40 percent of enrollment at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), yet they are underrepresented in institutional data, underserved by college supports, and largely absent from higher education research. The Family-Friendly Tribal and Rural Campuses project addressed this gap through a three-year collaboration among the Urban Institute, the American Indian College Fund, PERG Learning, and three TCUs: Salish Kootenai College, Turtle Mountain College, and Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University. TCUs are tribally chartered, rural institutions serving their respective tribes and Native students. Grounded in Indigenous methodologies, data sovereignty and self-determination, and intersectionality, the project revisited the Family-Friendly Campus Toolkit by gathering survey and qualitative data from students and site visits. Findings show caregiving students are highly motivated and supported by strong cultural belonging, but still face gaps in child care, finances, and navigation resources. The project highlights TCUs as leaders in family-centered higher education practices.