Higher education enrollment on Hawaii Island continues to dwindle, leading University of Hawaii administrators to look for ways to boost revenue.
The last three fall semesters at University of Hawaii at Hilo have begun with consistent dips in enrollment, with overall numbers dropping by 328 students, or 7.9 percent, since 2012, according to headcounts provided by the University of Hawaii Institutional Research Office. There are currently 3,829 students enrolled.
Meanwhile, Hawaii Community College’s fall enrollment has dropped by 830 students since 2011, or 21.2 percent, with 3,087 now enrolled.
UH-Hilo saw a spike in enrollment in conjunction with the nation’s financial crisis of 2007-08, with fall enrollment climbing by 584 students between 2007 and 2012, representing growth of 16.3 percent. But now that the economy has improved and more students are opting to find employment, enrollment is declining.
At a welcome ceremony kicking off the academic year this fall, UH-Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney told faculty and staff about the challenges presented by the dropoff, and highlighted the importance of attracting more students.
“What we need to do is find ways to recruit more students, retain more of our existing students, and help them graduate in a timely manner,” he said.
That could be a tall order, however, considering changing demographic and economic factors that historically combine to lower attendance at institutions of higher learning.
For one thing, the number of high school seniors graduating from Hawaii Island public schools is decreasing, said Jason Cifra, vice chancellor for student affairs at Hawaii Community College.
“Our high school students of going-to-college age, that number is plateauing,” he said. “We’re anticipating that number will continue to slowly decrease and then plateau.”
In fact, graduation numbers are projected to continue their decline through the 2016-17 academic year, according to a March 2015 enrollment projection report by the Institutional Research and Analysis Office.
Private high school grads entering UH campuses across the state declined from 33.5 percent in fall 2010 to 27.2 percent in fall 2014, while public school grads fell from 40.6 percent in fall 2011 to 36.5 percent in fall 2014.
“Most campuses in the UH system have posted enrollment declines for the last two to three years. The enrollment declines at UH-Hilo have been moderate, at between 2 to 3 percent for the last two fall semesters. Further decline is anticipated, but at a rate of less than 1 percent a year through 2016, with enrollment stable thereafter,” the report reads.
“The long-term trend has been for very strong growth, as measured since 1950, with some periods of rapid growth and decline. The expectation would be that, after this current downward trend runs its course, enrollment will return to the long-term trend.”
In the meantime, Hawaii Community College is looking to boost interest in going to college by expanding its offerings for high school students, Cifra said.
“Right now, we’re increasing our Early College Program. … The last couple semesters we’ve had enrollment from high schools close to 400 or 500 students taking college-level courses,” he said. “We find it encourages students we don’t necessarily think will be attracted to going to college. It allows them to experience it as a junior, a senior, and even sometimes as a freshman.”
About 375 Manono campus students participate in Hilo, and more than 100 are participating at the new Palamanui campus in West Hawaii, he said. All told, participation in the program’s fall semester increased by 156 students between fall 2014 and fall 2015.
The college is also looking at ways to make enrollment easier for students in a bid to catch those who may be dissuaded by a complicated process, Cifra added.
On Nov. 14, Hawaii Community College will host its first Express Admissions Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Prospective students are invited to attend either campus to have their questions answered by staff and to get a UH identification card, which is the first step in the admissions process.
Administrators at UH-Hilo and Hawaii Community College say that they are also looking to boost enrollment by taking a more personal approach to recruitment.
“We believe that by developing better relationships with students, their families and their schools, more Hawaii resident students will see why UH-Hilo is an ideal community in which to pursue their education,” said UH-Hilo Interim Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Gail Makuakane-Lundin.
Counselors also were set to travel to various regions on the mainland this fall to help develop more interest in attending school on Hawaii Island, she said.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.