HONOLULU — The on-time graduation rate for University of Hawaii at Manoa students has doubled in the last decade, officials said.
The school’s graduation rate now matches the national average for public universities, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.
The four-year graduation rate reached 36.6% for the class of 2019, up from 17.5% in 2010, according to the University of Hawaii Institutional Research & Analysis Office.
The national rate for public universities was 32.9% in 2010 and 36.9% in 2017, The National Center for Education Statistics reported.
The figures represent first-time, full-time freshmen who graduate from the institution where they originally enrolled.
“We are not satisfied with that figure,” UH-Manoa Provost Michael Bruno said. “We know we need to keep working.”
Graduation rates at the state’s flagship campus were notably low 10 years ago. But the school won an Association of Public and Land Grant Universities national award in 2017 for success in increasing graduation rates, which officials said have continued to climb.
Hawaii residents outpaced the overall average, with 43% of graduates from local public schools and 41% of local private school graduates earning degrees within four years of enrolling as first-time freshmen, officials said.
“We pride ourselves on the fact that we are very focused on the success of students here in Hawaii,” Bruno said.
The university’s six-year graduation rate for bachelor’s degrees, the benchmark used by the federal government, reached 60.5% this year. The national public university average is 60%.
Bruno credited a range of efforts by administrators and faculty to help keep students on track.
“For me it’s an indication that we are at all levels simply doing our job better,” Bruno said. “Students are feeling part of the community, and our programs are delivering the courses they want and need to accomplish their degree.”