April 6, 2000 For Immediate Release

At the end of April, the University of Northern British Columbia will host the first international conference focusing on retention strategies for aboriginal students. About 350 delegates are expected, with participants from New Zealand, Hawaii, Arizona, other part of the United States, and Canada.

Called RETAIN (Retention in Education Today for All Indigenous Nations), the aim of the conference is to improve the retention and graduation rates of indigenous people in higher education. Themes include innovative programs, student recruitment, community involvement, advising and first-year programs, and student services.

Historically, aboriginal students have been very under-represented in colleges and universities. A 1999 Statistics Canada report shows that the percentage of aboriginal people with a university degree doubled from 1986-1996, but is still much lower than the non-native population (4% versus 19% of non-Aboriginal people). "If those who attend this conference go away with some new ideas for encouraging aboriginal students to complete a college or university program, we've done our job," says Anne Marie Sam, the Coordinator of UNBC's First Nations Centre and Chair of the Conference. "As aboriginal communities acquire more responsibility for providing services and government, education in aboriginal communities is critical."

The conference will be held at UNBC from April 28-30. A Youth Day (April 27th) will precede the conference and is expected to draw more than 300 participants from communities across northern BC and Alberta. Conference entertainment will include a Susan Aglukark concert on April 28th.

Conference registration and more information is available at www.res.unbc.ca/Retain2000