ARIZONA GOVERNOR DUCEY SIGNS SENATE BILL 1300 TO STRENGTHEN THE TRIBAL COLLEGE DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2022
TSAILE, Ariz. — On March 18th, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed Senate Bill (SB) 1300, approving amendments to the Tribal College Dual Enrollment Program. The Tribal College Dual Enrollment Program comprises of three Tribal colleges and universities in the state of Arizona, such as Diné College, Navajo Technical University, and Tohono O’odham Community College.
“Diné College is grateful to Governor Ducey and bill sponsor Sen. Thomas Shope for the passage of this bill as it benefits so many Navajo students living off the Navajo Nation,” said Diné College President Charles Roessel. “This opportunity will allow students living in metropolitan areas or cities to receive college credit in Navajo language, history, or government courses and expands partnerships with other high schools.”
Introduced by Arizona Sen. Shope, SB 1300 enhancements include:
- Allows tribal colleges and universities to offer courses off the reservation; including tribal language and cultural courses and general college courses to Native American students and other students;
- Allows Arizona Department of Education – Office of Indian Education to offer technical assistance to college and high schools initiating a dual enrollment program; and
Geraldine Garrity, provost added her support for the new bill. “Our goal for dual credit students to complete courses from our general education curriculum at no cost, so they can be college-ready when they become full-time students at our institution,” she said. Students enrolled in the Dual Credit program currently are taking courses such as ENG 102 College Composition II, ENG 234 Literature of the Southwest, MTH 114 College Math/Quantitative Reasoning, MTH 190 Pre-Calculus and PHS 110 Principals of Physical Science.
The Diné College Dual Credit Program provides high school students with geographically feasible and affordable access to a quality post-secondary education. Students greatly benefit from the program as they have a stepping stone from high school to college, by serving as a pathway to academic degree programs or college-level courses. The program is funded by unclaimed lottery prizes and allows local high schools to partner with tribal colleges and universities to support opportunities for high school students to earn college credit. SB 1300 will become effective ninety (90) days after the last day of the legislative session.
