Case Study: Red Lake Nation College boosts student retention and analytics-driven success with Canvas LMS

A Warrior Nation A Learning Tribe With Opportunity for All

Red Lake Nation College is a tribal community college on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in northwestern Minnesota that serves largely adult, first‑generation and geographically remote students. Facing an “education canyon” — extremely low four‑year degree attainment, transportation and distance barriers, and outdated resources — the college needed an affordable, user‑friendly learning management system that would let it partner with other tribal colleges and expand access to higher education.

After evaluating several platforms, Red Lake implemented Canvas in under a month, integrating their SIS and training staff so students could access coursework, submit media, and get real‑time feedback via mobile apps. Canvas analytics, Outcomes, and Learning Mastery views enabled intrusive advisement and accreditation support and helped preserve Ojibwe language instruction; semester‑to‑semester retention rose about 10–20 percentage points (from roughly 60–70% to ~80%), while student accountability, motivation, and institutional planning all improved.

Red Lake Nation College

Dan King

President