University of Hawaiʻi President Wendy Hensel outlined both the opportunities and challenges of restructuring the 10-campus system during the Board of Regents’ September 18 meeting in a presentation titled, “The Power of Scale: Enhancing the System of the University of Hawaiʻi.”
The presentation examined how UH can more effectively align its mission and vision with an administrative structure that better supports students, faculty, staff and the state. Hensel said the goal is to ensure the system operates “at scale” to maximize effectiveness, strengthen academics and expand workforce development. At the core of this vision is ensuring all students are supported with a common standard of care.
“We are at the beginning of the dialogue, not at any point where decisions have been made,” Hensel said. “Be assured that these will be things that we discuss openly, transparently and with clarity. This is going to be in full view of our community and with community engagement.”
After the presentation, the UH Board of Regents approved the creation of a permitted interaction group to examine possible changes to the UH System’s leadership structures.
Strategies and risks
Several potential strategies were outlined for consideration, including separating the dual role of the UH president and UH Mānoa chancellor, integrating the Community College System more fully into the UH System, expanding shared services to support all of the institutions and developing dual-mission comprehensive institutions that combine two- and four-year programs.
The risks of an uncoordinated system were also noted, including uneven enrollment strategies, resource allocation problems, technology mismatches and more.
“Part of the question is how do we really come together as a system and maximize the 10 campuses to reach places that we can’t reach at individual campus locations,” Hensel said.
Advantages and challenges
Hensel cited a number of advantages to a more integrated system, including stronger curricular cohesion, easier student transfers, greater collaboration across programs, avoidance of duplicated efforts and a unified academic experience. Administrative integration could also provide consistency in technology, shared services and policy standards, while strengthening professional development opportunities and improving risk management.
“From my perspective as the president, I see the community colleges, Hilo, West Oʻahu and Mānoa as individual parts of the system that are not always coordinated and aligned with each other,” Hensel said. “We need to think through how to work effectively together and provide the full support that each one of them deserves.”
Hensel also acknowledged challenges that increased integration could bring, including preserving the unique identity of each campus, maintaining decision-making at the appropriate level, covering the costs of restructuring and addressing potential resistance from stakeholders.
