A skill development program for native students: Preliminary results

The increasing enrolment of Native students has not been matched by increases in success or retention rates. A skill development program designed for support service delivery to high risk students was provided for Native students in a liberal arts university. Assessment of the program in terms of academic performance, a demographic and perceived problem questionnaire, and anecdotal evidence resulted in support for continuation of the program and in planned modification of the orientation component.Although there has been a gratifying increase over the last decade in the enrolment of Canadian Natives in post-secondary programs (Sloan, 1981), this trend has not been followed by an equally increased success rate. Rather, Native students have exhibited high attrition rates paralleling the well-documented rates found in the primary and secondary school system (Sealey, 1980). In light of the lack of evidence for the effectiveness of traditionally-delivered student support services for Native students, efforts have been made to develop programs for Native students prior to admission (Grindstaff, 1970) or for those enrolled in a professional program (Read, 1983). The results of these special programs are encouraging, and consistent with the concept of special service delivery systems for high risk students (Smith et al., 1981).The present paper will examine the results of the first year of operation of a skill development program for Native students in a liberal arts university.