The Navajo Technical University (NTU) is a tribal university that is chartered by the Navajo Nation under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-471) [As amended through P.L. 110-315, Enacted August 14, 2008] but that does not receive funding under that law.

NTU has one major campus in Crownpoint, New Mexico and four instructional sites, two in New Mexico and two sites in Arizona. The Navajo tribal membership is over 300,000 citizens, of which approximately 181,000 live inside the Nation’s borders. The Navajo Nation is located in three states: New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.

NTU Career and Technical Education (CTE) Project is designed to continue NTU’s tradition of career and technical postsecondary education, providing funding for education, as well as for support services. NTU CTE certificates and degrees integrate rigorous and challenging academic/career instruction, while continuing to emphasize national specialty accreditation and certification standards. The project also proposes to expand the early college program using advanced placement strategies with Navajo-serving high schools to encourage participation in postsecondary career and technical education.

The Pathways project is another element that is designed to encourage students to aim high as they consider career goals and work academically toward high skill, high wage employment opportunities. Several elements in the project are focused on providing services to Navajo students that will lead to skills, attributes, knowledge, and values necessary to gain employment and building capacity for independent living.

Activities such as the Maker's Fair, Research Days, and Skills USA are offered to engage students more deeply in the skills they need for employment, and the tutoring/mentoring/counseling aspects of the project as they work toward earning certificates and/or degrees in a variety of Career and Technical Education programs. NTU offers its students training in a myriad of CTE programs such as:

• Welding
• Construction Technology;
• Industrial Maintenance;
• Culinary Arts;
• Pre-Engineering; and
• Computer Science

NTU currently has a student enrollment of 1,571, which includes students enrolled in its main Crownpoint campus and the four training sites of Bond Wilson, Chinle, Teec Nos Pos, and Zuni.

The United Tribes Technical College (UTTC), the second oldest Tribal College/University in the United States, is located outside of Bismarck, North Dakota. UTTC was started as a training center in 1969 and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The College is owned and operated by the five Tribal Nations, located wholly or in part of North Dakota, including Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, the Spirit Lake Nation, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.

UTTC has been continuously accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) since 1982 and awards certificates, associates and baccalaureate degrees. In addition to HLC accreditation, UTTC’s Automotive Technology program has been certified by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) since 2013, which qualifies graduates to take the nationally approved Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) examination. UTTC is also certified as an Accredited Test Facility of the American Welding Society (AWS), one of only two in the state of North Dakota and the first in the country at a Tribal College.

UTTC has identified the following four goals to be accomplished through its FY 2019 Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Institutions Program (TCPCTIP) project:

• Goal 1: To offer high quality CTE programs of study designed to prepare students for further education and careers in high-skill, high-wage, or high-demand industry sectors or occupations that meet local and regional workforce needs.
• Goal 2: To promote student success through enhanced UTTC Student Support Services.
• Goal 3: To promote increased rates of student persistence and academic success.
• Goal 4: To increase student certificate, diploma, and degree completion rates.

UTTC proposes to offer Career and Technical Education (CTE) training for 900 Native American and Alaska Native students in the following programs:

• Welding and Heavy Equipment Operations
• Culinary Arts and Nutrition Program
• Automotive Technology
• Criminal Justice
• Business Administration
• Pre-Engineering
• Environmental Science & Research
• Elementary Education