October 2010
Hawai‘i Graduation Initiative update
Hawai‘i is in the vanguard of states leading with a college completion agenda. We were one of only eight states selected to take part in Complete College America’s “Fall Academy” in October where we shared our plans to increase the numbers of students graduating with two- and four-year degrees and one-year certificates.
The Hawai‘i team drafted a preliminary three-step state completion plan, which includes:
- Fifteen to Finish: Encouraging students to enroll full-time and complete at least 15 credits per semester.
- Accelerate to Finish: Providing options for students to begin earning credits by completing college-level work in high school and through the use of summer school.
- Workforce Responsive Certificates: Establishing new certificates based on communication with employers and the Hawai‘i Workforce Development Council to reinforce the teaching of skills in new or high-demand areas.
Simply put, our citizens must complete to compete in our global economy. We’ll be sharing more about our efforts in these areas as our plans are further developed and implemented.
University and campus news
- C-MORE Hale supports microbe research
- Native Hawaiian serving grants awarded
- West O‘ahu golf tournament scores scholarship
- Hawai‘i CC among America’s best
- PCATT celebrates 10-year anniversary
- Leeward opens new Filipino studies center
- Maui College provides employment for isle youth
- Hokulani Imaginarium unveils new technology
- Manoa receives more than $32 million in grants
UH Community Colleges News
Hawai‘i campus named among America’s best community colleges
Hawai‘i Community College placed 24th among the top 50 community colleges in the 2010 rankings by The Washington Monthly magazine.
The rankings are based on the Community College Survey of Student Engagement. The survey gathers information about which community colleges do the best job of adopting institutional practices and encouraging student habits that years of research have shown to be strongly correlated with higher levels of learning.
Hundreds of thousands of students at over two-thirds of all community colleges were surveyed about practices such as the number of books and papers assigned, the frequency of group assignments, the amount of student interaction with faculty, hours spent preparing for class, and the quality of support services.
