Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Address: 2101 14th St., Cloquet, MN 55720
Phone: (218) 879-0800
Toll Free: 1-800-657-3712
Website: www.fdltcc.edu
Locations: Cloquet, MN, with an additional satellite campus in Red Lake, MN
Established: 1987
Chartering Tribe: Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
President: Larry Anderson
Land Grant College: Yes
Enrollment: 1,047 (Fall 2014)
Associate degree programs
- Associate of Arts
- Associate of Arts with emphasis on American Indian Studies
- Business/Financial Services
- Corrections
- Criminal Justice
- Electric Utility Technology
- Environmental Science
- Fine/Studio Arts
- Fitness and Health
- Geographic Information Systems
- Human Services
- Law Enforcement
- Nutrition
- Registered Nursing
- Small Business Entrepreneurship
Non-degree programs/Certificates
- Anishinaabe
- Chemical Dependency Counselor
- Clean Energy Systems Technician
- Geographic Information Systems
- Infant & Toddler Child Development
- Law Enforcement Skills
- Nursing Assistant/Home Health Aide
- Paraprofessional Educator
- Pre-School Child Development
- School Age Child Development
- Small Business Entrepreneurship
Diploma
- Practical Nursing
Responding to the Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee’s call to create a community college as part of the tribe’s comprehensive education plan, the Minnesota Legislature funded a feasibility study for the college in 1986.
In 1987, the legislature officially created Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) and the tribe officially chartered it. In the same year, the Bureau of Indian Affairs approved FDLTCC’s eligibility for funding under the Tribally Controlled Community College Act, and the state appropriated money for the college’s first two years of operation.
In 1994, FDLTCC received Land Grant Status. That year, Minnesota recognized its unique state-tribal co-governance structure.
In May 1999, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools accredited FDLTCC.
In 2003, FDLTCC gained approval to develop and offer a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, making it the only community college in Minnesota offering a four-year degree.
Home to the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the relatively small Fond du Lac Reservation in northeast Minnesota spans over 150 square miles. Recognized not only for the beauty of its setting but also in the cultural values reflected in its design and architecture, the 38-acre FDLTCC campus lies atop a bluff overlooking the small town of Cloquet.
Unlike many tribal colleges and universities that struggle to attract students in geographically isolated reservation communities, FDLTCC draws from the many surrounding towns off the reservation, making its student population among the largest of all tribal colleges.
Because of its status as a co-governed tribal and state community college, FDLTCC accesses resources that fund two-year degree programs in 40 areas of study and 15 additional certificate programs.
Credits from FDLTCC transfer to four-year universities participating in the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum. Additionally, FDLTCC and the University of Minnesota-Duluth have established an articulation agreement that facilitates transfer of FDLTCC credits toward a bachelor’s degree in education.
The student body includes 57% part-time students, 90% non-Native students and 56% female students. The college employs 33 full-time faculty members and 61 part-time faculty members.
In 2011, NASA selected Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College as one of only four colleges in the United States to receive grant funding for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.