October 2012
Hawai‘i Graduation Initiative, accreditation, travel schedule and AUW campaign
Community College accreditation visitAccreditation teams visited six of seven UH community colleges this month. Six teams consisting of about a dozen people visited the campuses as part of the university’s regular six-year accreditation cycle. Vice President of Community Colleges John Morton says we are currently awaiting the team’s recommendations.
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) recently visited the UH System and gave it high marks for progress in securing federal grants to support its leading edge research during tough economic times.
WASC also praised the system for its financial planning during the recession and its ability to educate more students and improve graduation rates despite funding decreases.
President’s travel scheduleI will have a busy travel schedule at the end of the month, starting with the annual Wu Lecture for the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University in New York.
I will also attend various board meetings, meet with congressional representatives and federal agencies in Washington, D.C. and attend development and donor cultivation meetings for the UH Foundation, where I will share the university’s remarkable progress over the last few years. It includes the start of the construction process for the Palamanui Campus in West Hawai‘i, the opening of the UH West O‘ahu campus and the upcoming opening of the impressive new Cancer Center.
Aloha United Way Fall CampaignThe 2012 Aloha United Way campaign officially ended on October 5, 2012. Dedicated coordinators and volunteers from our O‘ahu campuses raised more than $270,000.
Top News
Hawai‘i Graduation Initiative
The University of Hawai‘i is getting some national attention on our highly successful Hawai‘i Graduation Initiative and 15-to-Finish advertising campaign. The effort encourages full-time students to take 15 credits per semester and graduate on time.
UH System’s 10 campuses saw an increase of nearly 15 percent in the number of students taking 15 or more credits in the fall of 2012, compared to the previous year. The 10 campuses are working together to increase the number of UH graduates by 25 percent in 2015. We’ve already seen a 20 percent increase in UH graduates since 2008.
Complete College of America, an organization that works with states to support increased college completion, says Hawai‘i is in the top 5 to 10 states in the country in terms of progress in this area. CCA recently selected the University of Hawai‘i and a handful of other universities to lead this initiative across the country.
