Held in collaboration with the Asian Pacific American Cultural center this year, this program was established to enhance personal growth through development of leadership skills, communication, responsibility, diversity awareness, outreach, cultural awareness and networking among CSU staff, faculty and students.

The retreat historically garners high marks from participant evaluations, with positive commentary regarding the ability to meet and network with other students, share their personal stories and enjoy increased diversity in the University environment.

This program provides free tutoring to students in core subject areas like composition, biology, chemistry and math. To assess program success, data regarding student participation, GPA, tutoring subjects and program retention are tracked each semester. The benchmark goal is for at least 70 percent of students earn a grade “C” or better in classes which they were tutored. In 2021-22, 100 percent of courses tutored were for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

NACC provided opportunities for one graduate student and six undergraduate students and one summer intern to gain valuable work experience while providing administrative support to the NACC office. These support and intern positions collaborated with communities from the campus to the global level for beneficial knowledge and resource exchanges that benefited all involved. Work within these positions included support of the NACC mentoring program to student and office support to planning and development with the Division of Student Affairs at Colorado State.

In collaboration with CSU Physics Department’s “Little Shop of Physics,” and the College of Engineering, this program provides outreach to K-12 schools with predominantly Native American student populations in southwest Colorado, northwest New Mexico, Northeast Arizona and South Dakota. For participating schools, it enhances student interest in science, engages parents and community and provides teachers with alternative methods to teach scientific concepts. Fall and spring semester trips normally conducted over break were canceled this year due to COVID-19 concerns.

The program fosters student development in cross-cultural and global awareness and social responsibility by providing experiential opportunities for CSU student volunteers. It also provides recruiting opportunities and University alumni connections with locals.

Held for the 18th consecutive year at Colorado State, this program consists of nine events held virtually and in-person through the months of October and November, these events focused on sharing the knowledge and culture behind Native American heritage. Ongoing partnerships with RamEvents and Campus Activities allows for more student feedback through focus groups and evaluations to help determine future programming.

Events included Indigenous Peoples Day programming on the LSC Plaza, an LGBTQ+ and Native American Heritage Month Keynote speaker, documentary showings and more. As a precaution for COVID-19, the AISES Annual Pow Wow was not hosted.

Upper class student mentors serve as a resource for self-identified Native American students who are new to the University or a university environment. Mentors assist participants with transition to life at a major university and in-turn, are professionally trained for the role and receive credit for a PSY486, a psychology practicum course. Collaborators include NACC, the Psychology Department and the CSU Health Network. Semester-to-semester retention rates are tracked to assess the program’s success.

NACC partnered with CSU’s Warner College of Natural Sciences and CSU Extension to receive a CSU Extension grant that supports two undergraduate research positions at $4000 each for summer 2022. Entities like the National Science Foundation (NSF) regard undergraduate research as a high-impact approach to enhance student engagement, enrich student learning experiences and encourage students to consider graduate school and positively impacts student retention. The Center sponsored two undergraduate researchers with this program.