Short Answer Questions

Tips for The Full Circle and TCU Scholarship applications

The Full Circle and TCU Scholarship applications have an essay style format with three short-answer questions.

These sections are your chance to share your story and give readers an opportunity to see how a scholarship would help you achieve your stated educational and professional goals and require you to discuss three elements: an obstacle that you have overcome in order to get to where you are now; your educational goals and how this scholarship will help you achieve those; and how your education will help your Native community.

We recommend that you type out your responses to the short-answer question in a Word document (like this template) to ensure safe keeping if you need to abandon the application before submission.

To enhance this section, start by creating an outline of your thoughts and initial answers to each question. The outline does not need to look perfect, but it will allow you to start thinking about and organizing these questions and how they relate to each other.

Here are two sample outlines to help get you started:

A Visual Outline for those who prefer to see the outline as part of the big picture.
A Textual Outline for those who prefer a more linear approach.
Whichever outline you choose, remember that they are not meant to be exhaustive. They are designed to help you organize your thoughts and begin planning for writing your final responses.
There is no right or wrong answer for these questions, but it is very important that you provide a thorough response to each short-answer question.

As always, don’t forget to check your grammar and spelling!

NOTE: The short-answer section is ONLY available in the application, not in the profile. This means you must have all of your application ready (INCLUDING YOUR TRANSCRIPT READY TO UPLOAD) when you answer these questions; otherwise your answers will not be saved.

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A Reflection from a Student Leader

By Audrey Saganna Jr., Ilisagvik College Student
2026 American Indian College Fund Student of the Year Recipient

AIHEC 2026 March 15, 2026 Student of the Year; Audrey Saganna Jr.

Being named Student of the Year is something I’m incredibly grateful for, but to me it represents much more than just an award. At Ilisagvik College (IC), I’ve grown as both a student and a leader and get to express my passion by giving back to my community.

Through my involvement in the Student Government Association (SGA), my main concentration is to create purposeful changes that directly uplift our students here at IC. I’m a big advocate of mental health and wellness, as I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to continue one’s education when placed in a tough spot. Right now, I’m working on establishing a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) chapter on campus, so students have access to more support and resources. Mental health issues affect so many people, and I want to create spaces where students feel safe, supported, and not alone.

Through cultural events and fundraisers, I push to make changes that matter to students. I’ve helped organize Native American Heritage month events that celebrate our culture and history. We’ve created cultural spirit weeks to encourage students to show pride in their cultures alongside Niqipiaq Day, where we bring people together through the celebration of traditional foods. Everyone provides foods like bowhead whale, caribou, homemade bread, berries, etc, that we prepare a couple hours before enjoying it amongst each other. It’s one way we keep our traditions strong and also provide for the students who want to eat or experience traditional foods while being away from home.

Niqipiaq Day February 26, 2026: dorm students and staff (left to right): John Duterte, Chloe Araya, Allan Punla, Audrey Saganna Jr.

IC is special because it’s a place where Native Alaskans reconnect and learn about who we are while pursuing our education. It is a space where we can be unapologetically Inupiaq and provides an environment that centers culture and community and supports students in building their sense of identity and purpose. The support I’ve received from the College Fund has helped motivate me to continue my educational journey and stay focused on my goals. I’m planning to use my degree in wildlife biology and conservation to take care of the land and animals because it is a big part of who we are as Inupiat people and I want to be a part of preserving our home and culture for future generations. I’m very proud of where I come from and the work I’m doing, and I’m excited to keep building on it in the future.

What Are Interagency Agreements and Why Do They Matter for Tribal Colleges and Universities?

Ahniwake Rose, President and CEO, American Indian Higher Education Consortium

By Ahniwake Rose, President and CEO, American Indian Higher Education Consortium

Recently, federal agencies have begun implementing what are known as interagency agreements (IAAs) between the U.S. Departments of Education, Interior, and Labor. These agreements are designed to shift how certain education and workforce programs that serve American Indian and Alaska Native students are administered across federal agencies.

The goal of these IAAs sounds straightforward: improve coordination, reduce unnecessary reporting, and make services easier for Native students and Tribal Nations. Under these agreements, one agency may take on administrative responsibility for programs historically managed by another, using a framework permitted under federal law.

But for tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), the implications are more complicated.

TCUs are not just institutions of higher education. They are chartered by Tribal Nations and exist as expressions of sovereignty, serving students, families, and communities in some of the most rural and underserved regions of the country. TCUs also play a crucial role in the federal government’s trust and treaty obligation, supporting the education of Native people.

When authority shifts between agencies without clear accountability, it can create uncertainty around funding, oversight, and program continuity. The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), which represents 35 accredited TCUs, has been active in addressing these concerns regarding how IAAs are put into practice. AIHEC has emphasized the need for clear accountability across agencies, as well as structured coordination to ensure TCUs are not left negotiating through disconnected or duplicative federal systems.

Consultation must be central to this process. AIHEC has submitted formal letters and comments outlining our concerns about both the process and the details of these agreements to the Departments of Education, Interior, and Labor. We have stressed the importance of meaningful, government-to-government consultation to occur early and throughout implementation and not after key decisions have already been made.

For TCUs and the students they serve, these policy changes under the IAAs are not abstract. They can directly influence how financial aid is provided, how workforce programs get approved, and how quickly TCUs can meet the needs of their communities. Stability matters— especially for students juggling school, family responsibilities, and work in communities where TCUs are often the only accessible higher education option.

Better coordination among federal agencies could benefit everyone. Done well, it could reduce administrative burden and improve access to services. But this coordination must be done with clarity, accountability, and, most importantly, in full partnership with Tribal Nations and the institutions that serve them.

Learn more about Ahniwake Rose.

Redefining the Finish Line: Little Priest College’s Story-Driven Approach to Measuring Part-Time Student Success

Holistic, student-centered services is an innovative strategy in higher education. For tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), however, these practices are foundational. Since their inception, TCUs have centered culture, community, and relationships in their mission and daily practice – getting to know their students as whole people and meeting them where they are.

Little Priest Tribal College Logo

Little Priest Tribal College (LPTC) embodies this commitment, and the campus reflects the community it serves. Students are balancing caregiving, parenthood, employment, and other responsibilities alongside their education. In fact, 75% of students enrolled in fall 2025 attended school part-time. These realities influence how students move along their higher education pathways and challenge standard definitions about what college success looks like.

As one of 30 TCUs in the Cultivating Native Student Success initiative, LPTC focuses on Indigenizing strategic enrollment management and Native student success by strengthening culturally grounded student support services and relevant degree programs. TCUs use key enrollment indicators (KEIs) to support Native student success, reduce socio-economic barriers, and guide students from enrollment to graduation and meaningful careers.

LPTC is redefining how completion is used as a metric for student success to ensure no student’s effort – or progress – is invisible.

Why traditional metrics miss the mark
Standard measures of college completion focus on first-time, full-time students and exclude part-time and returning students who needed to pause their studies. In addition, completion rates among full-time students are typically time bound, excluding associate degree-seeking students who receive their degrees after three consecutive years or four consecutive years. These measures do not account for the realities of most students at LPTC and other TCUs.

When success is studied through a narrow scope, a student’s total commitment to education can be overlooked.

Measuring what matters
LPTC is committed to using institutional data to foster a deeper understanding of student success. Kavya Mariboyina, Director of Institutional Effectiveness, guides these efforts and designed KEIs to align institutional reporting with the enrollment patterns of their students, developing an evidence-based completion measure to define success on their own terms.

Mariboyina explains:

“Part-time students are not the exception, they are the majority, and when success is measured mainly through full-time student metrics, we miss the real stories of our students. . . we ensure our data reflects who we truly are. This approach helps us tell more honest stories, make better decisions, and ensure that our students’ efforts and successes are not left out of the data.

Rather than relying on time-bound metrics within a cohort, LPTC tracks the overall number of students who completed their degree per term and median time to completion for both full-time and part-time students. Their 2025 institutional data show that part-time students complete their associate’s degree in 9 attended semesters and full-time students in 6 attended semesters.

Mariboyina also tracks total credit hour completion of students who have not yet graduated. This allows LPTC’s Student Support Services department to reach out to students who disenrolled just shy of completing their degree and encourage them to re-enroll with the benefit of free tuition. Because of these combined efforts, LPTC graduated 23 part-time students and 6 full-time students in May 2025 – an increase of 15 part-time students from the prior academic year. LPTC recognizes persistence in college – not speed of completion – as a meaningful indicator of student success.

LPTC President, Manoj Patil, explains the importance of this approach:

“Tracking part-time students is critical at a TCUs, as nearly two-thirds of enrolled students attend part-time, including at [LPTC]. Student success metrics and institutional outcomes can be substantially improved through intentional strategies focused on retaining and supporting part-time learners.”

Honoring Every Student Pathway
Redefining the finish line at LPTC is about more than data. It’s about visibility and accountability to community. Completion metrics that account for the realities of students’ lives acknowledge unique, non-linear pathways.

By honoring every student’s effort, LPTC ensures no one is invisible and celebrates the successes of all students, both full-time and part-time. In doing so, the college serves as a model for higher education that is more inclusive and reflective of the students they serve.

Short Answer Questions