Spring 2019

The Office of the Vice President for Academic Planning and Policy (OVPAPP) provides executive leadership in setting forth the systemwide academic vision and goals for the University of Hawaiʻi in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders. A significant portion of OVPAPP’s work is focused on the Hawaiʻi Graduation Initiative (HGI), a UH Strategic Direction dedicated to ensuring students’ successful degree completion.

Accelerated AA Online Program to Launch in Fall 2019!

The University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges (UHCC) Accelerated AA Online kicks off with an inaugural cohort of 70 students this fall. Students will earn their Associate in Arts degree by taking five-week courses online, one at a time, year round. Participants in the first cohort may earn their AA from Leeward Community College as early as December 2021. The response to the Accelerated AA Online has been extremely positive. More than 500 prospective students expressed interest within 48 hours of the program’s announcement. When applications opened on March 1, every seat in the cohort was filled by first day applicants. There are nearly 300 applicants for Fall 2019. Other interested applicants are on the Fall 2019 wait list and/or being accepted into one of 75 seats in the second cohort beginning Spring 2020.

For more information, contact Tammi Oyadomari-Chun, tammi@hawaii.edu


UH Faculty Attend Workshop on Redesigning First-Year Math

A key priority under the Hawaiʻi Graduation Initiative (HGI) is Improving First-Year Success via redesign of developmental math and English and in building multiple pathways to college-level completion. Through the Student Success Council (SSC) and system discipline meetings, faculty, counselors, and administrators have asked:

What are institutions and math faculty doing across the country to achieve ambitious goals in mathematics pathway reform? What best practices do we foresee having success at UH?

A team of UH math faculty participated in a two-day math workshop in April 2019 in the small town of Morrilton, Arkansas focusing on math redesign approaches to improve college completion outcomes. The Arkansas Co-requisite Mathmatics Workshop was facilitated by the University of Texas at Austin Dana Center Mathematics Pathways and guided faculty into the detailed work of modernizing undergraduate math education. The UH team emerged with plans to co-facilitate with the UT Austin Dana Center a two-day, system-wide workshop for UH math faculty on October 25-26, 2019. Support is provided, in part, by the SSC Network and national nonprofit Jobs for the Future.

For more information, contact Joshua Kaakua, jkaakua@hawaii.edu


Campus Teams Attend an All-Day Planning Session on Returning Adults


returning adult student being interviewed

UH’s returning adults population are comprised of nearly 4,000 students who return to UH each year after an absence and impact our overall student enrollment and retention. Campus teams convened in April 2019 at Windward Community College to improve integrated student support plans for this important population. The teams analyzed student data, heard firsthand experiences from returning adults, and shared ideas with each other. Participants cited that the most compelling reasons to focus on a returning adults initiative are to improve students’ employment opportunities, help students achieve personal goals, and support the greater community.

Campus plans include offering classes and student support services in the evenings and developing Prior Learning Assessments. System plans include webinars on returning adults, regular convenings of returning adults counselors, additional reports on stopped out and returned students to inform campus plans, and a recruitment campaign.

Website: http://uhcc.hawaii.edu/ovpcc/returning-adults

For more information, contact Tammi Oyadomari-Chun, tammi@hawaii.edu



Three-Year Undergraduate Tuition Freeze Approved


The UH Board of Regents approved a three-year freeze of undergraduate tuition rates at UH’s 10 campuses beginning with the 2020–2021 academic year. The new tuition schedule also decreases general graduate student tuition rates at UH Mānoa. For the schedule, see Attachment 1 of EP6.201 at http://www.hawaii.edu/policy/.

UH news article: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2019/05/16/regents-approve-tuition-freeze/

For more information, contact Pearl Iboshi, iboshi@hawaii.edu



UH Data Governance and Information Security Briefing Held in Spring 2019


As part of an ongoing information security and awareness campaign, Information Technology Services and the Data Governance Office hosted an April webcast for UH faculty and staff on the latest updates in security risks, and records management and contracts executive policies. Guest presenter Kelly McCanlies, Privacy Program Director and Privacy Officer at Hawaiian Electric Company, shared practical advice on how to protect your privacy at home and at work.

Presentation slides and handouts: https://datagov.intranet.hawaii.edu/training/ (Note: You must login or be logged in with your UH account)

For more information, contact Sandra Furuto, yano@hawaii.edu



Hawaiʻi 2019 Data eXchange Partnership Data Summit Theme: Equity and Student Success


Hawaii Data Exchange

Hawaiʻi P-20 Partnerships for Education organized the 6th annual Hawaiʻi Data eXchange Partnership Data Summit at the Salvation Army Kroc Center in May 2019. This year’s theme was “Equity and Student Success.” Presentations focused on highlighting how data are being used throughout Hawaiʻi to take action and better support students to succeed academically and in the workforce. Attendees, including stakeholders from early childhood, K-12, post-secondary, workforce, community partners, and more, learned about the importance of data in driving improvement and change.

Website: http://hawaiidxp.org/resources/data-summit

For more information, contact Stephen Schatz, sschatz@hawaii.edu



2019 Pathways Summit Theme: Building Connected Paths for Students


Hawaiʻi P-20 organized a two-day statewide Pathways Summit, “Building Connected Paths for Students,” at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center in April 2019. The purpose of the Summit was to support the co-creation of high-quality college and career pathways to ensure all young people have increased opportunities and access to credentials that lead to living wage careers. The Summit was kicked off by Jobs for the Future (JFF) and their Pathways to Prosperity (PtoP) team who shared their learning and expertise around this work from across the country in the plenary and breakout sessions. More than 250 participants attended from six islands and included secondary and post-secondary educators and administrators, complex area and state office leadership, and industry and community partners. Next year’s Pathways Summit is being planned for early spring of 2020.

Website: http://www.p20hawaii.org/events/pathwayssummit19/

For more information, contact Stephen Schatz, sschatz@hawaii.edu



College & Career Readiness Indicators (CCRI) Report Available


graph of on-time graduation rates  graph of math and English rates

The Class of 2018 College & Career Readiness Indicators (CCRI) Report provides information on how well students demonstrate they are on a path toward success, as measured by on-time high school graduation, participating in dual credit and Advanced Placement exams, performance on standardized assessments, and enrolling in college and taking college-level courses. These metrics are available for each high school as a printable PDF and through an interactive dashboard. The dashboard allows educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders to take a deeper dive into understanding academic outcomes for populations and regions of interest.

As Ann Mahi, Nanakuli-Waianae Complex Area Superintendent, has said, “Our elementary, intermediate, and high schools and UH partners have created a system to regularly review data and K-12 alignment. The data from the CCRI is like our North Star—from Pre-K through high school, we are all aligned to improve our graduates’ outcomes.”

The CCRI Report is produced by Hawaiʻi P-20’s data team using cross-sector data from the Hawaiʻi Data eXchange Partnership (DXP) and in collaboration with the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) and the University of Hawaiʻi (UH).

Website: http://hawaiidxp.org/quick_data/ccri/index

For more information, contact Stephen Schatz, sschatz@hawaii.edu



FAFSA: Cash for College Challenge Update


Cash for College Challenge

In order to meet the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) Superintendent’s goal of 70% statewide FAFSA completion, Hawaiʻi P-20 coordinated a FAFSA Cash for College Challenge. Through the generous support from the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, and First Hawaiian Bank, the challenge was expanded to 42 high schools this year. Schools hosted FAFSA nights, coordinated student contests, and provided one-on-one support to encourage FAFSA completion. 17 schools were awarded prize money for increasing their FAFSA rates by over five percentage points from last year as well as for having completion rates closest to 100 percent as of March 15, 2019. The total statewide FAFSA completion average of participating schools increased by three percentage points over the previous year – 53% vs. 50%. In addition, 25 schools increased their FAFSA completion rates from last year by an average of 8 percentage points (56% vs. 48%).

The University of Hawaiʻi (UH) is also supporting the FAFSA initiative this year by providing all seven UH community college campuses with funding to provide outreach to HIDOE schools to assist with their FAFSA completion efforts through peer mentors and workshops on FAFSA completion and scholarship applications.

For more information, contact Stephen Schatz, sschatz@hawaii.edu



My Future Hawaiʻi Applications to UH Up


My Future Hawaii

This school year, 25 high schools used My Future Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi‘s college and career connection website, to have seniors apply to University of Hawaiʻi (UH) campuses. Over 2,100 applications were submitted, an increase of nearly 1,500 applications from the previous year.

Since 2009, Hawaiʻi P-20 has worked with the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE), UH, and the Workforce Development Council (WDC) to develop the college access web portal. The portal is envisioned as a “one-stop shop” for students to explore careers, research colleges, submit college applications to the University of Hawaiʻi online and learn more about scholarships and financial aid. Educators can also use the portal to help students navigate the college and career pathway. They can track their students’ progress and download reports and metrics that can be helpful in advising students along their educational journey. Currently, all HIDOE high schools statewide have access.

For more information, contact Stephen Schatz, sschatz@hawaii.edu



Hawaiʻi P-20 Leading a State Literacy Initiative


In partnership with the Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL), the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE), and the University of Hawaiʻi (UH), Hawaiʻi P-20 is spearheading the Hawaiʻi State Literacy Initiative. The goal of the State Literacy Initiative is to design and implement strategies that are specifically literacy-focused and target communities with a high percentage of “at-risk” students, who historically have been identified as struggling readers (e.g., students from low-income households, dual language learners, students experiencing homelessness, foster children, etc.). Funded by a coalition of local philanthropic organizations, Hawaiʻi P-20 and HIDOE are convening a multisector network of stakeholders across the state to develop a State Literacy Plan. The Plan is meant to be aspirational and establish a common literacy expectation and language shared across the educational system. It is intended to foster a continuity of literacy advancement that will build upon each system implementing research-based and promising practices to support all learners, from keiki to kūpuna.

For more information, contact Stephen Schatz, sschatz@hawaii.edu


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