Institutional & Accreditation History
The United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) is a unique inter-Tribally controlled institution of education. Located on a 237-acre campus three miles south of Bismarck, North Dakota, UTTC is owned and operated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation by the five federally-recognized Tribal Nations located in whole or in part within the state of North Dakota. These are: the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, the Spirit Lake Tribe, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. Control of the corporation is vested in a Board of Directors comprised of ten members with the Tribal Chairperson and one other tribal member selected by the tribal Council of each Tribe.
With modest resources to establish an employment training center, UTTC founders envisioned the development of a postsecondary institution serving Indian people who shared cultural and economic backgrounds. The education model that has taken shape at United Tribes over the years embraces a unique learning environment with education programming offered in a culturally-relevant, family-centered community setting. Today, the college's leadership continues the mission to provide training in career-technical skill areas and in various workforce and social skills that a successful student will demonstrate in today's world.
The site of United Tribes Technical College is of significant historical
importance. The brick buildings that house the college were built for
the Army as Fort Lincoln shortly after the land was purchased in 1903.
Maintenance and use of the Fort was provided by the military until the
beginning of World War II. Later, during the war, German and Japanese
prisoners of war were interned at the facility. In 1948, Fort Lincoln
was designated the permanent headquarters for the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Garrison Division. As such, the Fort served as the center
for planning activities for the Garrison Dam Project. In 1966, the Federal
government abandoned the Fort as surplus property. The site was remodeled
for use as a Job Corps Center until the end of 1968 when the Job Corps
was phased out.
The history of UTTC is closely tied to the formation of the United Tribes of North Dakota, established in 1963 as a inter-tribal organization designed to monitor termination legislation then proposed in North Dakota. The organization also sought to address other political, social, and economic needs of the Indian Tribes. Several years after a successful fight to stop termination legislation, the founding leadership group incorporated as the United Tribes of North Dakota Development Corporation (UTNDDC).
In 1968, UTNDDC acquired the use of Fort Lincoln for a residential employment training center and named it the United Tribes Employment Training Center. Initially, administration and operation of the Center was subcontracted to the Bendix Corporation, which had submitted a proposal that eventually lead to the management of the Center by UTNDDC. The first student began arriving in late August 1969 and the Center was formally dedicated September 6, 1969. Bendix Corporation ceased operation of the facility in July 1971. The UTNDDC took over direct management under contract from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and selected administrative staff to maintain operations of the Center from 1971 until the present.
In October of 1975, a decision was reached by the UTNDDC to change the name of the vocational school from United Tribes Employment Training Center to the United Tribes Educational Technical Center, since this name more accurately reflected the Center's nature and purpose as a whole.
In the spring of 1978, the Center was granted candidacy for accreditation status at the certificate-granting level by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In 1982, the Center was granted initial accreditation as United Tribes Technical Center.
UTTC made a major change in 1987 and asked the North Central Association
to accredit two of its vocational programs at the Associate of Applied
Science (AAS) degree level. NCA conducted a review of the college and accredited two degrees, one in Licensed Practical Nursing and the other in Medical Records Technology. At the same time, the institution's name was changed to United Tribes Technical College. Another accreditation review occurred in the spring of 1990 whereby NCA approved accredited degrees in the Business Clerical and Criminal Justice programs. In the summer of 1993, three additional programs - Automotive Service Technology; Art/Art Marketing; and Early Childhood Education - were accredited through 2001 by NCA. UTTC has the world's only Injury Prevention program at the AAS level. With the arrival of the new millennium and increased Tribal workforce needs, the college introduced new programs such as Tribal Management, Tourism & Hospitality Management, Computer Information Technology, and Medical Transcription & Coding.
In the spring of 2003, the College requested an institutional change from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (NCA) to include authority to offer full degree programs online. NCA conducted a focus visit in April 2003 to evaluate the Online Education program and by November 2003, UTTC was approved to offer Early Childhood Education and Injury Prevention degrees online. In 2004, the College requested three additional degree programs for NCA approval, which was granted for Elementary Education, Health Information Technology, and Nutrition & Food Services. UTTC is the only Tribal college in the U.S. with accredited online degree programs.
Along with NCA accreditation status, programs at United Tribes Technical College are also approved and/or certified by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation, the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management, the North Dakota Board of Nursing, the National Dietary Managers Association, and the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission.
Rev. May 2006
