With preparations underway for this weekend’s mid-year commencement ceremony at the University of Hawaii’s flagship campus, it’s heartening that UH-Manoa’s graduation rate now matches national averages for public universities.
Over the span of a decade, the so-called on-time graduation rate has doubled, reaching 36% for the class of 2019. Especially encouraging is that among Hawaii residents, who make up well over half of the student body, slightly more than than 40% are earning bachelor degrees within four years of enrolling as first-time freshmen.
The university system’s leadership deserves praise for spurring the boost with strategies such as personalizing academic advising and stepped-up tracking of student trends. However, in the wake of this progress, the overall “headcount” enrollment for the state’s 10-campus system is dipping.
It fell to 49,977 in fall 2019 — down 2% from fall 2018. That followed a 1.2% decrease over the previous year. Much of the decline is among community colleges. UH-Manoa’s enrollment was 17,490 this fall, and has been relatively stable for two years.
Last week, during a joint budget briefing at the state Capitol, Higher Education Chairwoman Donna Mercado Kim took aim at an “increase in expenses” at UH-Manoa and said that since the campus is staffed with enough faculty and administrators to support 20,000 students, it should be looking for ways to downsize.
But within the next few years, it’s estimated that nearly two-thirds of jobs in the United States will require post-high school education and training. And the forecast for Hawaii sets that bar slightly higher. Weighed against those projections, downsizing seems shortsighted. Rather, UH must re-assess and adapt to make its offerings relevant to emerging, real-world jobs.
And given that UH-Manoa has ample capacity to handle more students, and almost half of its operational budget flows from tuition, it seems sensible to redouble efforts to increase headcount.
In fall 2014 the count at the campus fell below 20,000 for the first time in more than a decade. In response,
UH President David Lassner initiated an ongoing effort to see UH-Manoa enrollment rebound to that mark.
Baby boomers spurred enrollment there to its highest-ever point (22,371) in the early 1970s. Aside from the ups and downs of birth rates and the economy — many students will pause college studies to enter a healthy job market — there’s plenty that the university can control in its effort to add at least a few thousand students to its rolls.
In addition to outreach at the high school level and academic advising that stresses efficiency in navigating a path to graduation, UH must continue to develop attractive degree programs that fit current and future employment needs in Hawaii.
University facilities must be continually updated, too. Along those lines, Gov. David Ige’s proposed supplemental budget for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, unveiled this week, seeks $86.8 million for the UH system’s construction budget. Deferred facilities matters need to be tackled, among other challenges.
But the UH has other points of pride, too. To mention a few, with upwards of 100 countries and regions represented, in recent years U.S. News and World Report has ranked UH-Manoa on a top-5 list for ethnic diversity. It has also placed in the publication’s top 20 for international business undergraduate programs.
Sen. Kim rightly pointed out that the UH “can’t be everything and all things and all programs to everybody.” Still, state lawmakers must strive to maximize its value to the state.
In the UH’s role as the sole provider of public higher education in the islands, it aims to align academia with community needs. Quality education for as many students as possible, with on-time graduation, can only help to advance Hawaii’s economy through research,
innovation and a robust talent pool.
