Promising Start for California Indian Nation College

The LAist news site posted "Native American Students Feel Invisible. A New SoCal College Hopes To Change That," on November 14, 2019 with reporting by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez.

Guzman-Lopez focuses on a new institution, California Indian Nations College (CINC), that is offering classes in cooperation with the College of the Desert, University of California Riverside, and Cal State San Bernardino.

CINC enrolls 80 students and plans to reach 200 students  five years as administrators lay the foundation for independence and accreditation.





You can learn more about institutional programs and plans by visiting the CINC website.

CINC has been featured by The Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education in a number of recent posts, including "California Indian Nations College Is the Newest Tribal College," from August 11, 2019.

 An article on the Indian Country Today website, "California Indian Nations College opens, establishes degree program in partnership with local colleges," also offers an interesting description of CINC and institutional plans.

Maine Media Workshops Granted Candidacy Status by NEASC

Lauren Abbate, reports in "A little art school on Maine’s coast takes big step toward greater recognition" for the Bangor Daily News that Maine Media Workshops + College of Rockport, Maine was granted candidacy for accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) last month.

The institution was founded in 1973 as Maine Photographic Workshops by David H. Lyman.  It grew to offer film, television and AA degree programs as Rockport College. A MFA program was added in 1995.  Ownership changed in 2007 and Maine Media Workshops were incorporated as a non-profit 501(c)3.

Small Liberal Arts Colleges: Positive Report from a Gathering of Presidents

Rick Seltzer's post from November 11, 2016, "The Future of the Tiny Liberal Arts College," presents an interesting summary from a meeting of fifteen small college presidents held earlier in the year. Seltzer reports that the presidents addressed opportunities and challenges faced by their institutions and that conversations emphasized the ability of the smaller institutions to try different approaches rather quickly when they see an opportunity.

The Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation provided support for the meeting and the foundation's president, Julie J. Kidd, commented in a summary that the “...discussion affirmed the benefits of small scale: small class size, meaningful faculty-student interactions, and participation in a strong academic and campus community...” 

Seltzer also interviewed others from the higher education community for the article and their comments underscore the notion that these institutions thrive when they focus on a particular niche or approach and then are consistent over the longer term in hiring committed faculty and staff.  

I particularly appreciated the comments of Hal Hartley, senior vice president for The Council of Independent Colleges.  He indicated that his organization is working on an analysis of the financial strengths at its member institutions and noted one preliminary finding is that small institutions are demonstrating greater financial stability than some with more than 3,000 students.  Hartley concluded, "…size isn’t necessarily your destiny.  Just because you’re small doesn’t mean that you can’t survive financially, that there’s not a viable model.”

A Call for more UltraSmall Colleges

"Why We Need Tiny Colleges," provides an interesting rationale for considering small colleges and reflects a call similar to one issued last year by Susan Henking, president of Shimer College, when she urged consideration of an Artisanal College Movement.  

Marcus Ford argues that we are more likely to see a focus on students at smaller institutions.  His article refers to some better known small institutions like Deep Springs College in California and Sterling College in Vermont.  Ford also mentions several lesser known initiatives to create new smaller institutions:  Flagstaff College in AZ, Outer Coast College in Sitka, AK and Thoreau College in Viroqua, WI.  The article for yes! magazine and it was posted August 26, 2016.  

In addition, Ford provides a link to the site of UltraSmall Colleges that provides some more information and has links to a few other small institutions.

You can scan through previous posts on the Small College Garden blog with links to additional articles on Sterling College, Outer Coast College, Shimer College, and other similar institutions.