WETCC BULLETIN BOARD
About Us
waadookoodaading
Gaawaabaabiganikaag Gabegikendaasowigamig Waasa Inaabidaa
Gibimiwidoomin gidinwewininaan niigaanakeyaa
White Earth Tribal and Community College Vision Statement
We are carrying into the future the way that we were given
WETCC Mission Statement
White Earth Tribal and Community College, an Anishinaabe controlled liberal arts institution of higher education, is dedicated to educational excellence through provision of a culturally relevant curriculum, in partnership with students, staff, community, and industry.
Purpose Statements
The college will present learning as a lifelong process of discovery of knowledge embedded in the intellectual disciplines and the traditions of the Anishinaabe people.
The college will support the selfdetermination of the Anishinaabe people through the preservation and promotion of their history, culture, and language.
The college will seek to address the social, political, and economic needs of the White Earth Reservation through programs that encourage service to the community.
The college will promote a philosophy based on the seven teachings of the Anishinaabe.
Goals and Intentions
The WETCC publicly declares its goals and intentions by providing:
A learning environment emphasizing the application of academic concepts into real life situations
An awareness that academic learning is a life long process
Teaching and learning grounded in the intellectual disciplines and traditions of the Anishinaabe Nation
Classroom opportunities to discover the nature of Indian society, its history, variation, its current and future needs
Opportunities for students and faculty to serve as contributing memebers of the community
The highest quality of institutional programs that meet the challenges and needs of its people
Continuous assessment of institutional programs and students academic achievement for the purpose of continuous improvement of student learning
The overall goal of the college, through its affiliations, is to provide higher education programs appropriate for addressing the higher education needs of Anishinaabe people and others who can benefit from studies at the White Earth Tribal and Community College. These education programs include:
Associate of Arts degree programs
Associate of Applied Science degree programs
Certificate programs
Adult Education programs
Specialized training and awareness programs in topic areas of need
Philosophy
Learning opportunities offered through the college express the Anishinaabe language, values, customs, beliefs, traditions, spirituality, and family structure, along with other concepts that are inherent in other cultures. Staff of the college include faculty, with expertise in their discipline and experienced personnel who ensure the articulation of Anishinaabe values into the framework and content of learning offered through the college. Programs provided through the college include contemporary social, economic, and technological trends from a local, Tribal, regional, national, and global perspective so that concepts of sovereignty and nationhood are preserved by the Anishinaabe people. White Earth Tribal and Community College offers a diverse system that includes workshops, distance learning, conferences, forums, field trips, research projects, and other learning opportunities to meet the unique learning needs of the population that the college serves.
Statement on the Value of Diversity
When we live the seven teachings of the Anishinaabeg, we understand and embrace the diversity of Turtle Island. We understand that we all live within the circle of lifethe land, the rocks, the trees, the plant beings, the animals, the birds, the insects, all the peoples of the worldand all of us are equally important. Manaaji´idig. Therefore, WETCC encourages and embraces the diversity of all that is.
History
The White Earth Tribal and Community College is a Tribally chartered institution of higher education, which offers certificates, associate degrees, and other degree programs through affiliation agreements with other degreegranting institutions of higher education. The College is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and the National Association of Land Grant Institutions.
Beginning in 1979, Tribal members began the initiative to provide local higher education services in partnership with Moorhead State University. On September 8, 1997 the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council established the White Earth Tribal and Community College (WETCC).
On September 8, 1997 the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council passed Resolution #03897005 establishing the White Earth Tribal and Community College (WETCC). On October 27, 1997 the college opened its doors to 40 students enrolled in several computer courses and a business communications course.
On February 23, 1998 classes for the spring semester began with nearly 70 students enrolled in a variety of classes. The college anticipates continuous growth and demand for the services of the White Earth Tribal and Community College.
Accreditation
The White Earth Tribal and Community College achieved accreditation in October 2008.
The Campus
White Earth Tribal and Community College campus is made up of five buildings. The main campus of is located at 202 South Main Street. Waadookoodaading is located at 106 South Main Street. The Education building is at 701 E. Jefferson Avenue, and the Nursing building is on highway 59. The administrative offices are located at 124 South First Street, Mahnomen, Minnesota. Mahnomen is the county seat for the County of Mahnomen. It is located 22 miles north of the village of White Earth, Minnesota. Courses are held at the main campus in Mahnomen and when possible in surrounding communities. Further information about the college´s policies, activities and programs can be found at www.wetcc.org.
Woodland Wisdom Confederacy Program
Woodland Wisdom is a confederacy of Tribal colleges and the University of Minnesota that have joined together in order to address chronic health problems that threaten the Woodland Tribes of Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota.
The goal is to create a regional community consciousness around how food and nutrition impacts community, family, and individual health and wellbeing. Woodlands Wisdom is committed to providing Native people the means to improve the quality of health and life in their communities.
White Earth Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effect Awareness Project
The awareness project is established at the college as a community service to:
Educate parents and parentstobe on the effects of alcohol.
Promote abstinence from alcohol.
Educate on FAS/FAE an its effects on community.
Serve as an advocate for pregnant women.
Promote substance free pregnancies.
Serve as an advocate for children with FAS/FAE.
Educate on healthy family life skills.
Community Education
White Earth Tribal and Community College recognizes the importance of service to its community by providing educational and cultural needs to the community beyond formalized classroom instruction. The Community Education Program component provides a variety of services to the communities of the northwest region of Minnesota. Community service programs are proposed, initiated and developed to satisfy the unique and specific educational needs of the college´s service communities.
Continuing Education Services
Continuing Education provides lifelong learning opportunities on campus and on an extension basis within the college´s service area. The curriculum covers a variety of subjects designed to reflect the needs of the community, including professional development, academic continuing education credit, and noncredit enrichment programs. Conferences, seminars and workshops and program education and training are also offered on a shortterm basis. These are often cosponsored with other Tribal, regional or national organizations for targeted audiences and topics.
WETCC Extension Office Program Services
The College established the White Earth Tribal and Community College Extension Office the fall of 2003. It is located at 124 South First Street, Mahnomen, Minnesota.
The extension outreach at WETCC is designed to augment rather than compete with the offerings already available through the University of Minnesota Extension Service. Areas of focus include Holistic Management, Permaculture, and Native Plant Knowledge.
In addition, the WETCC Extension program supports youth opportunities in math and sciences through continuation of the White Earth Science and Math Summer School for grades 812. It is designed to help improve the success of Native American students in science and math by providing experiential learning situations that incorporate Anishinaabe traditions, field experiences in the diverse natural resources of the reservation, and conventional curricular goals.
The mission of the college specifically involves outreach to all people within our communities. Extension programming here is rooted in the same philosophy. Many of the courses will be provided at little or no cost to the participant so as to assure these opportunities are fully utilized. This is beneficial to both the community and the college itself.
Educational Talent Search
Educational Talent Search program identifies qualified youth who have potential for postsecondary education at the secondary level, and encourages them to complete high school and pursue postsecondary education. The program also encourages those who have not completed secondary or postsecondary education, but who have the ability to complete these programs, to reenter those programs.
Talent Search provides exploration of career interests, educational guidance and support, an information source for questions about postsecondary education, help in the admissions process, assistance in applying for financial aid and assistance for students reentering high school or postsecondary schools. Talent Search is free to those who qualify.
Equal Opportunity College
White Earth Tribal and Community College affirms the rights of all individuals to equal opportunity and treatment in education, without regard to age, race, religion, color, gender, marital status, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, or any other considerations that are extraneous to effective performance. Providing equal opportunity is the responsibility of each staff member, and extends to all aspects of the curriculum and other activities of the College.
Students with Disabilities
Support, counseling and information about assessments and referral services
Academic assistance services that may include early registration services, early syllabus availability, course selection and program advising, coursework and testing assistance and modification, and tutoring
Advocacy services that may include assistance from a Disability Services Coordinator for students needing services, assistance in working individually with faculty and administrators, intervention procedures, and grievance procedures
Data Disclaimer
White Earth Tribal and Community College obtains the right to change any information on an as needed basis. Information is up to date at the time of publishing.