California tribal college loses accreditation, closes

Black Issues in Higher Education, March 24, 2005

WOODLAND, CALIF.

American Indian leaders who tried to save California's only tribal college say that problems at D-Q University are insurmountable. The two-year college in rural Yolo County lost its accreditation in January, after school officials failed to fix financial and management troubles.

"We realize the school has reached its lowest point and concede it cannot be salvaged by us," 13 members of the new D-Q board of trustees said in a signed statement.

D-Q--which stands for Deganawidah Quetzalcoatl--has been closed for a month, though 24 students have stayed on campus to fight to keep the school open.

"This is very disappointing," says Lynn Brown, D-Q's student body president. "What we need is somebody who will come in and won't break down once they realize how tough it's going to be."

The students have asked the state attorney general to investigate the school's management of financial aid funds. A major obstacle for the new board was getting information such as student records. For more than three weeks, members of the original board of trustees barred access to the administrative building.

"They kept the building with all the records locked up. Without those student records, it was impossible for us to start addressing the accreditation issue," says Donna Begay, who recently joined the board.

--Associated Press