As many as 20 percent of tribal college students are not Native American, according to the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.

Tribal colleges can't use federal funds to educate non-Natives. That means they must absorb the costs of these 5,400 "non-beneficiary" students.

But states continue to receive tax and other revenue for these students. It's "an awfully good deal for states,� says Dr. Joseph F. McDonald, the president of Salish Kootenai College on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, where the student president is non-Native.

Tribal colleges in South Dakota have tried to tap into their state's fund but haven't had much success. "South Dakota state colleges are currently receiving around $3,900 per full-time student from the state," says Thomas H. Shortbull, the president of Oglala Lakota College and a former state senator.

Get the Story:
Mary Annette Pember: Deal or No Deal? (Diverse Issues in Higher Education 11/29)

Relevant Links:
American Indian Higher Education Consortium - http://www.aihec.org
Tribal Colleges and Universities - http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/list/whtc/edlite-index.html
American Indian College Fund - http://collegefund.org

Related Stories:
American Indian College Fund runs ad campaign (10/05)
College in Barrow is Alaska's first tribal college (07/28)
New director for White House Tribal College Initiative (01/20)
Tribal budget advisory council backs tribal colleges (03/01)
Bush budget seeks cuts to Indian education programs (02/10)
Bush administration budget slashes BIA programs (02/08)
Nation's tribal colleges struggle to make ends meet (02/07)
Johnson expects tough times for Indian initiatives (01/18)
Congress restores Bush's cuts to Indian programs (11/22)
Tribal colleges awarded millions in federal grants (08/06)
Tribal college board seeking boosts in funding (9/25)