UH West Oʻahu enrollment continues to climb

Posted: Jan 26, 2011

PEARL CITY -- The University of Hawai‘i–West Oʻahu campus boasts continued enrollment growth with 1,403 on-campus and distance learning students for the spring 2011 semester, representing at 9.8 percent increase from the spring 2010 semester. The spring semester kicked-off on Monday, Jan. 10.

UH West O‘ahu officials attribute the continued demand for bachelor’s degree-granting programs at its campus to a focus on meeting the workforce needs of the state. Healthcare administration, early childhood education, business and other areas are seeing substantial interest.

“This spring’s enrollment numbers demonstrate, for yet another consecutive semester, that we are on the right track toward offering what our students are looking for: a high quality education taught by highly regarded and talented faculty,” said Gene Awakuni, UH West O‘ahu chancellor. “As our capacity for more classrooms and students expands as a result of the opening of our new campus in Kapolei in fall 2012, we will make an even greater impact on our region and state by offering relevant higher education where it is most needed, especially in leeward O‘ahu.”

The school’s commitment to recruiting and retaining more Native Hawaiian students is again successful as more than 25 percent of spring semester students are of Native Hawaiian ancestry; up from 24 percent last year.

UH West O‘ahu’s Student Services have largely been credited for not only successful recruitment of new and transfer students, but retaining them once they are enrolled. “Our services really focus on helping our students succeed before they are confronted with many of the typical obstacles that higher education can bring,” said Susan Nishida, UH West O‘ahu vice chancellor for student affairs. The school offers support with time management, test-taking preparation, college reading, writing, math and science.

Nishida also credits the many articulation agreements between UH West O‘ahu and the community colleges that help define pathways to bachelor’s degree programs. “These agreements in the areas of public administration, respiratory care, business and others have certainly contributed to our sustained growth in enrollment of transfer students from our UH System community colleges.”

For more information and a complete list of UH West O‘ahu academic programs, visit www.uhwo.hawaii.edu, call the Office of Admissions at (808) 454-4700, toll-free at (866) 299-8656 or email admissions@uhwo.hawaii.edu.

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UH West O‘ahu became a four-year, comprehensive university when it served its first class of freshmen in fall 2007. The University offers quality education, small classes and personalized attention at convenient locations. Construction is currently underway for the school’s state-of-the art new campus in the City of Kapolei, scheduled to open fall 2012. For more information, visit uhwo.hawaii.edu, twitter.com/uhwestoahu, facebook.com/uhwestoahu or call 454-4700 or toll-free (866) 299-8656.