General Information
TMCC’s Mission
TMCC is committed to functioning as an autonomous Indian controlled college on the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation focusing on general studies, undergraduate education, Career and Technical Education, scholarly research, and continuous improvement of student learning. By creating an academic environment in which the cultural and social heritage of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa is brought to bear throughout the curriculum, the college establishes an administration, faculty, staff and student body exerting leadership in the community and providing service to it.
Accreditation
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) accredits the College. TMCC volunteers to seek accreditation. Accreditation is not a requirement but is important to the College. According to the NCA Handbook of Accreditation “Accreditation is both a process and a result. As a process, it is a form of peer review in which educational institutions establish a set of criteria and procedures by which they and their fellows are judged. As a result, it is a form of certification by which the quality of an educational institution, as defined by the accreditation body’s criteria, is affirmed.”
The College received initial candidacy for accreditation in 1978. In April of 1980, the College received its first biennial visit to review progress and development. As a result of this visit, TMCC was granted continued Candidate Status for an additional two years. The College received a team of North Central Association evaluators for a second biennial visit in April of 1982. The team’s report again recommended the College be continued in Candidate Status at the Associate Degree granting level.
In April of 1984, a team of evaluators visited TMCC; and in August, of that year, the North Central Executive Board granted the college accreditation. In April of 1989, a team of evaluators visited TMCC to determine if TMCC was continuing to meet the accreditation criteria. On August 25, 1989, the commission voted to continue the accreditation of TMCC. In October of 1993, NCA sent a team of evaluators to review the college’s request for continued accreditation. As a result, the College was granted ten years of accreditation with a focus visit to occur in the spring of 1996. The focus visit resulted in the College receiving full accreditation. In April 2001, The HLC granted full accreditation for the first baccalaureate degree, a Bachelor of Elementary Education. The HLC of NCA granted TMCC its second ten years of accreditation in 2003. In April of 2014, a team of evaluators again visited TMCC and in August of that year, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools granted reaffirmation of accreditation for TMCC.