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OCHE outlines recent changes to Native American tuition waiver to State-Tribal Relations Committee
Summary
Officials from the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education briefed the committee on administrative changes to the Native American tuition waiver and answered legislators’ questions about eligibility, outreach and implementation.
Galen Hollenbaugh, deputy commissioner for government relations and communications at the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, and Joe Thiel, deputy commissioner for academic research and student affairs, briefed the State-Tribal Relations Committee on recent administrative changes to the Native American tuition waiver.
The pair described updates intended to clarify eligibility and streamline application processes. Committee members — including Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, Sen. Susan Webber, Rep. Curtis Schomer and Rep. Shelly Fyant — pressed staff on how the changes would be communicated to tribal students and how eligibility determinations would be made.
Hollenbaugh and Thiel said OCHE is coordinating with tribal education offices and campus student services to increase outreach and reduce administrative barriers. Committee members asked for data on how many students currently use the waiver and what outreach budgets or timelines OCHE will use; staff said those details were being compiled for the record.
The committee did not take formal action but delved into procedural questions about verification, timelines and interagency coordination. The presentation closed with committee members requesting follow-up materials on eligibility rules and implementation timelines.
