COLLEGE HORIZONS, INC.
#CollegePride,NativePride
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
College Horizons Inc.
College Horizons was founded over 20 years ago because Native American students were not receiving sufficient and quality college advising, academic advising and financial aid counseling in their high schools resulting in Native students either being undermatched or not accessing 4-year degree programs at all. College Horizons started as a high school based program serving a small cohort of students in the Southwest and today we have grown to serve 3,500 indigenous students nationwide - 85% have graduated college within 4-6 years attending over 700 colleges and universities. Of those completing their bachelor’s degree, 21% continue on to complete advanced degrees in masters, professional, or doctoral programs with another 12% currently enrolled in graduate or professional school. Additionally, we partner with 75 colleges nation-wide, including highly selective institutions where 35% of our students enroll, providing over 1,000 college admission counselors, high school counselors and Tribal educators with professional development and training.
While CH has been extremely successful in empowering Native students to access and graduate from college, our work continues because despite the growth of college enrollment across the United States, fewer than 50% of Native American students graduate from high school and only about one in 20 will attend a four-year college or university. When a Native student makes it to college, one in three will earn a degree within six years. In national conversations college and career readiness is typically framed with the goal to prepare a future workforce that is ready to compete in the global economy. As educators we grapple with the question, “what does it mean to be college and career ready?” When thinking of college and career readiness from an indigenous framework the question is deepened to ask, “what does it mean to be college/career ready and what does it mean to be community and culture ready?” In other words, what does connecting college and career readiness to community and culture look like?
College Horizons addresses the college attainment gap with significant success by providing a culturally responsive college and career readiness curriculum that aligns with community core values and meets individual student needs. Through both our evidenced based and established summer programs College Horizons has also begun to work directly with schools to provide college readiness support.
College Horizons - High School Program
College Access: College Horizons is a pre-college program for Native American high school students open to rising juniors and seniors from across the nation. The CH programs are delivered in person and are held on a college/university campus for one week over the summer. This intensive six-day “crash course” on the college admission process allows students to work one-on-one with college admissions officers, expert guidance counselors, and/or university professors and administrators on the admissions and financial aid process. The individualized program helps students select colleges suitable for them to apply to, be admitted to, and receive adequate financial aid. Students research their top 10 schools; complete college essays, resumes, the Common Application and a preliminary FAFSA; receive interviewing skills and test-taking strategies (on the ACT and SAT); receive financial aid/scholarship information and resources; and learn strategies on how to become resilient and successful Native students in college. Following the program, students receive e-counseling or individual counseling throughout the year to assist with final college/financial aid completion.
Graduate Horizons - Pre Graduate Program
Pre-Graduate: Graduate Horizons is a four-day workshop assisting Native American college students, college graduates, and master's students in preparing for competitive graduate and professional school admissions (master's, doctoral, professional degrees). GH partners with 45 universities where admission officers, professors, and deans mentor and advise potential applicants on the admission process professional/career development, and the various fields of study, research, and graduate programs available. Participants of the program complete personal statements/statements of purpose, resume/CVs, and applications; receive test ¬taking strategies from the Princeton Review Foundation on the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT; understand the financial aid process for graduate school and learn about graduate scholarships/fellowships; and attend seminars on the graduate admission process (letters of recommendation, academic/ transcript/testing critique, how to determine the right match in a degree program; role of direct/relevant work experience, etc.). Cohorts consist of: Arts & Humanities, Business, Management & Entrepreneurship; Education; Law; Health Sciences; Public/Tribal Policy; STEM; Social Sciences.
Scholars Program - College Success & Wellbeing
College Success: The Scholars Program is an academic success program designed for Native American college students to improve their transition to college, strengthen their academic accomplishment in college, and increase their preparedness to apply for competitive fellowships, internships, and selective graduate or professional schools. By targeting risk points not addressed by existing College Horizons programs, the Scholars Program aims to bolster the number of Native American students who enter and stay in the PhD pathway. The Scholars Pathway Program is a four year pathway program that includes four in-person activities: a 1-week Transition-to-College bridge program for first-year students, a 1-week Introduction to Indigenous Research Methodologies (writing academy) for sophomores, a 3-day Pre-Graduate & Research Institute for juniors, and a 3-day Graduate Horizons (graduate application completion) for seniors. Students will receive direct services through a more robust, in-person, and contiguous Scholars Pathway Program (SPP) to better meet their mentoring, academic, socio-emotional, pre-graduate advising, and research needs.
Where we work
Awards
JOYCE E. SMITH EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AWARD 2017
NACAC
Hopkins Award for Excellence in Ethical Practice for Small Nonprofits 2022
New Mexico Ethics in Business Awards, CNM
Affiliations & memberships
National College Attainment Network Member 2024
National Association of College Admission Counseling Member 2024
National Indian Education Association Member 2024
External reviews
Videos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We focus feedback from current participants only, we have not done a public perception feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
COLLEGE HORIZONS, INC.
Board of directorsas of 02/14/2024
Ms. Nikki Chun
University of Hawaii-Manoa, VP of Enrollment Management
Term: 2021 - 2023
CARMEN LOPEZ
College Horizons, Executive Director
Jeremy Oyenque
Santa Clara Tribe
Dr. Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy
Arizona State University
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data