Native American Tuition Waiver

I. Policy Statement

1. Fort Lewis College will admit Native American and Alaska Native Students to Fort Lewis College on the same basis as other students.
2. The Native American Tuition Wavier program will waive the tuition charges for any Native American or Alaska Native Student who meets the eligibility requirements regardless of their residency status.
   1. For the purpose of the tuition waiver, Native American and Alaska Native Students are defined as:
      1. A student who is an enrolled citizen of a U.S. federally recognized American Indian Tribal Nation or Alaska Native Village.
         OR
      2. A student who is a direct descendant of a parent who is an enrolled citizen of a U.S. federally recognized American Indian Tribal Nation or Alaska Native Village.
   2. Undergraduate, Graduate and non-degree-seeking students are eligible to receive the waiver.
   3. Students must submit the required documentation by the deadline to receive the waiver. The waiver will be applied to the student’s financial aid award beginning for the term in which they were approved. The waiver cannot be granted or applied retroactively for enrollment in prior academic terms.
   4. Students receiving the tuition waiver are responsible for room, board, student fees, and all other charges to their student account as required by Fort Lewis College.
   5. The full value of the Native American Tuition Waiver will be applied to a student’s financial aid award first. Other sources of aid that can only be applied to tuition will not be awarded (such as tuition merit scholarships) as tuition has been waived. Other forms of need-based aid, such as grants/scholarships, loans, etc. as well as non-tuition only scholarships may be combined with the Native American Tuition Waiver to meet the student’s full cost of attendance.  The combination of the tuition wavier, federal, and state funds in the student’s financial aid package may not exceed the student’s total cost of attendance

Students receiving the Native American Tuition Wavier will be recognized as American Indian/Alaska Native for ethnicity and institutional data collection.

III. Responsibilities

For following the policy:  all students receiving the Native American Tuition Wavier 

For enforcement of the policy:  Director of Admission 

For oversight of the policy:  President

For notification of policy:  Policy Librarian

For procedures implementing the policy:  Director of Admission

V. Procedures

To receive the Native American Tuition Wavier, a student must be admitted to Fort Lewis College and submit the required documentation no later than 10 business days (2 weeks) prior to the first day of the term.

Documentation may include:

• A copy of the student’s tribal enrollment card, certificate or other tribally issued documentation of citizenship that includes the student’s enrollment number.
• The completed Affirmation of Descendancy form including a copy of the parent’s tribal enrollment card, certificate or other tribally issued documentation of citizenship that includes the parent’s enrollment number.

The College may request original documents for review. The College may also request validation of information from the Tribal Nation / Alaska Native Village.

It is the student’s responsibility to provide the necessary documentation for the Native American Tuition Wavier, FLC staff are not able to outreach to Tribal Nations on the student’s behalf.

The Fort Lewis College Admission Office will maintain student records related to the Native American Tuition Waiver.

This policy was clarified and updated effective for the Spring 2022 term, a narrow class of exemptions may be granted to students who were previously enrolled students at Fort Lewis College and received the Native American Tuition Waiver under the previous criteria. It is the student’s responsibility to request this exemption, by providing a written request to the Admission Office.

VII. Revision History