Comanche Nation College was a two-year, open admissions, American Indian

tribal college In the United States, tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are a category of higher education, minority-serving institutions defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965. Each qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Un ...

. It was located in

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Ce ...

, the capital of the

Comanche Nation The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

. The school was chartered in 2002 by the Comanche Nation Business Committee.AIHEC Accepts Comanche College as 36th Member.
''Tribal College Journal.'' Fall 2005 (17 Feb 2009) Comanche Nation College operated until July 31, 2017.

History

A Comanche Nation Charter Resolution established CNC as a community college in 2002. CNC was the first Tribal College established in the state of Oklahoma.American Indian Higher Education Consortium
The college closed in 2017 due to a lack of funding following a loss of accreditation.

Accreditation

The college became a candidate for accreditation by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

in 2012. It withdrew from the process in 2016. Unable to gain sufficient funding without accreditation, it closed in 2017.

Governance

The Comanche Nation established a Comanche Nation College Council of leaders in higher education. The Comanche Nation is federally recognized as a tribe of Oklahoma. The Comanche Nation has 13,679 enrolled Tribal members, with about 6,000 members living in the Lawton-Fort Sill area of southwest Oklahoma.

Partnerships

The college was a member of the

American Indian Higher Education Consortium The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) was established in 1972 to represent the interests of the newly developed tribal colleges, which are controlled and operated by American Indian nations. The four founders were Gerald One F ...

and

American Association of Community Colleges The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), headquartered in the National Center for Higher Education building in Washington, D.C., is the primary advocacy organization for community colleges at the national level and works closely with d ...

. It was the 36th member of the organization and the first tribal college in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. The college partnered with

Cameron University Cameron University is a public university in Lawton, Oklahoma. It offers more than 50 degrees through both undergraduate and graduate programs. The degree programs emphasize the liberal arts, science and technology, and graduate and professional ...

in Lawton; students were dual-enrolled and transfers were facilitated for students who wanted to pursue four-year degrees. The Oklahoma Board of Nursing approved the college's two-year nursing program, making it the first approved tribal nursing program in the state.Schonchin, Jolene
"Comanche Nation College nursing program gains two-year approval."
''The Comanche Nation News.'' 7 April 2011 (retrieved 19 April 2011)

Campus

The school occupied a former elementary school building.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comanche Nation College Public universities and colleges in Oklahoma Tribal colleges and universities Educational institutions established in 2002 Comanche tribe Lawton, Oklahoma Education in Comanche County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Comanche County, Oklahoma 2002 establishments in Oklahoma