Kudos to the University of Hawaii for its first overall enrollment increase in a decade, bucking a national trend of declining higher-ed enrollments.

The flagship Manoa campus saw a stellar 6% increase, with its 19,098 students this fall — 1,000-plus of them new students — comprising the largest first-year class in UH’s history. That helped offset a 3.2% enrollment drop at UH’s seven community colleges — which still was a lot better than the 9.5% decline seen by two-year mainland colleges in fall 2020 and spring 2021.

Sustaining quality messaging to prospective students, near and far, will be key — as well as deliverance of quality academic offerings and facilities.