Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Monday, January 29, 2018
UH to target former students for degree completion?
By News Release @ 3:10 PM :: 5600 Views :: Higher Education

UH targeting thousands of former students with degree completion campaign

From UH News, January 18, 2018

Leaders representing all 10 campuses of the University of Hawaiʻi kicked off a two-day planning session to craft a strategy to encourage thousands of former UH students to return to school to earn their degree.

According to the 2016 Hawaiʻi State Data Book, about 95,000 25–44 year olds in Hawaiʻi have some college credits but not a degree. UH is planning a statewide campaign to help more of those former students complete their post-secondary degree or certificate.

“From national and Hawaiʻi data, we know that higher education matters in providing choices, more secure employment, higher wages, better health and more civic engagement,” said UH President David Lassner. “We have the responsibility and opportunity to provide higher educational opportunity and develop the workforce and community solutions for Hawaiʻi.”

The Lumina Foundation reported that today’s students are less likely to get a job that pays livable wages or reach their full potential. The report estimated that high school graduates would miss out on $500,000 in earnings by not getting an associate’s degree and $1 million over a lifetime by not earning a bachelor’s degree.

Ensuring economic competitiveness

Lassner opened the January 18 session acknowledging existing campus efforts and the workforce needs of the community in the not-so-distant future. He said planning was key to encouraging adults who already have college credits to return to school. First target is students who attended UH for an undergraduate degree within the last five years but left school, or stopped out, without a degree or a certificate. UH is initially targeting 34,031 of these former students, in a multi-year, multifaceted effort to return and complete their degrees.

“So we want to invite these students back to pursue their dreams. Obviously it helps us but more importantly it helps them, it helps their families and it helps their communities,” Lassner said.

Helping working age adults earn degrees will help the state to meet its “55 by ‘25” goal that 55 percent of working-age adults should have a two-or-four-year degree by 2025 to ensure international economic competitiveness. The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce projected that by 2020, 70 percent of the job openings in Hawaiʻi will require a postsecondary credential.

Re-engaging returning adults

During the last decade, significant efforts and progress have been made in improving Hawaiʻi’s educational pipeline. UH’s Hawaiʻi Graduation Initiative has increased on-time completion and focused on achieving equitable outcomes for underrepresented students. In 2017, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature funded Hawaiʻi Promise to support college affordability at community colleges, and UH has actively participated in national networks to improve educational outcomes, such as Achieving the Dream and Complete College America.

“Re-engaging “stopped out” students, who previously invested time and resources into earning a degree, is critical to reach the state’s educational goal,” said Tammi Chun, Office of the Vice President for Community Colleges.

The session included a presentation by Sean Tierney, Indiana associate commissioner for higher education, about Indiana’s “You Can. Go Back” campaign, which targeted 750,000 former students who have some college credits but no degree. Indiana’s program reached out directly to prospective returning adults with a variety of programs and incentives including $1,000 state-funded scholarships, flexible class schedules, online courses, debt-forgiveness programs and other support for working adults. Indiana credits its campaign for 9,000 students returning to complete their degrees in the last two years. Similar efforts have been launched by universities and states nationwide.

Another presentation focused on how to improve the college experience for returning adults. A training team from the Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa, where day one of the workshop was held, provided details on the resort’s intentional design and customer service for a world class guest experience.

Lassner said it is important to understand how to reach the former students, their goals and the support they need to finish school. “What mode of classes, what programs will be most effective for them and how do we make the experience inviting.”

UH is using the lessons learned from the workshop as well as the prior campus efforts to develop programs and a statewide campaign to re-engage and support stopped out students.

The session was sponsored by the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Hawaiʻi Business Roundtable, UH Office of the President and the UH Office of the Vice President for Community Colleges.

Related Posts

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT