CPN-SGU Tribal Development Scholarship Update
After completing a full year of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation-St. Gregory’s University Tribal Development Scholarship, the CPN Department of Education staff had a chance to sit down with tribal and university leadership. After reflecting on all of the successes and lessons learned, everyone agreed how proud we are that this opportunity exists for the wonderful students receiving this scholarship. With ten percent of the SGU student population now receiving this scholarship, it’s extremely exciting to see how a partnership that started over 100 years ago between the tribe and the university is flourishing in 2017.
We also discussed some policy changes. Because there has been such interest in the program, tribal members should understand that the fund is being spent quickly, so if you are interested, it would be better to apply sooner rather than later. To ensure that we are investing funds well, we will be reviewing new applicants carefully using a new admission process. All of the program’s current policies can be viewed cpn.news/eduhandbook, but some of the highlights are included below.
1. Prospective students will begin by completing a short, online application provided by the CPN at cpn.news/sguscholarship. While the application will have a rolling deadline, an application for admission should be submitted at least one month before the term in which the student plans to enroll to allow time for the full process. As part of the application, students will be required to submit the following:
a. Contact and demographic information
b. Previous schools attended information
c. Unofficial transcript
d. ACT/SAT scores (or an explanation explaining why they are not available)
e. Answers to two essay questions:
i. What are your academic and career goals?
ii. How will you use this scholarship to benefit your tribal community?
2. A scholarship committee made up of members from the CPN Department of Education will review each application using criteria to determine the likelihood of successful graduation. Criteria will include a student’s academic history, ability to meet SGU’s admission requirements, demonstration of alignment of scholarship and university mission through essay answers and verification of tribal enrollment. Students who are not selected to receive the scholarship still may attend SGU, but they will be responsible for paying their tuition.
3. Students selected by the CPN Scholarship Committee will be referred to the SGU Admissions Department, where they will be instructed to apply online at www.stgregorys.edu. Prospective students may also visit the admissions office at the university on the first floor of Benedictine Hall.
4. SGU applicants must meet minimal admission criteria or be admitted on probation, as outlined in the St. Gregory’s University Academic Catalog in order to be eligible.
5. Once students have been approved for the scholarship and admitted into SGU, they will meet with a CPN College Advisor to review the scholarship handbook, sign a form detailing their understanding of the policies included herein, and complete an authorization of release form. Until they have completed these steps, their scholarship funding will be withheld.
6. Students will only be guaranteed funding for a year at a time, provided they meet satisfactory academic progress. For students who are placed on academic probation, the CPN Department of Education will provide support and an improvement plan to help a student get off of probation and avoid relinquishing the scholarship.
We look forward to welcoming a new group of students this spring! If any student has a question about the CPN-SGU Tribal Development Scholarship, they can reach out to the CPN Department of Education via email at college@potawatomi.org or telephone at 405-275-3121.