UHMC Enrollment Drops 7.6%

UHMC. Photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

Opening enrollment at the University of Hawai‘i Maui College dropped 7.6% for the spring 2013 semester. Total enrollment at UHMC was 3,980 students, a drop of 328 students from the spring of 2012.

Overall enrollment at the University of Hawai‘i System experienced a smaller 2.3% decline over the same period, with 55,373 students enrolled for the 2013 semester.

The University of Hawai‘i—West O‘ahu posted both the largest numerical gain and largest percentage growth of any UH campus with 344 more students, or 21.6% growth, compared to spring 2012. University officials attribute the strong numbers to the fact that it is a new campus serving the western region of O‘ahu in Kapolei. Total enrollment at the campus stands at 1,937 students.

“We’ve known for years how important it was to build the UH West O‘ahu campus in order to serve that region of O‘ahu, and the growth in student enrollment there confirms this,” said UH Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Linda Johnsrud in a media statement on Friday. “We’re proud to be able to meet the need for access to higher education for this previously under-served area of our state.”

Kaua‘i Community College also reported an increase in enrollment with 41 more students compared to last spring, for a total of 1,370 students.

Enrollment at the other UH campuses either remained flat or decreased slightly.

“We’ve experienced years of record growth and now we’re seeing it level out, which is what we predicted would happen,” said Johnsrud in a statement. “Most of the enrollment decline occurred at our community colleges, which could be attributed to the upswing we’re starting to see in the economy. During the economic downturn, students turned to the community colleges for short-term training and now they’re re-entering the workforce.”

Enrollment at other campuses includes the following:

• UH Mānoa enrollment stands at 19,073, a decline of 82 students or 0.4% compared to spring 2012.
• UH Hilo enrollment is at 3,901, a decrease of 102 students or 2.5% compared to spring 2012.
• Hawai‘i Community College stands at 3,238 students, a decrease of 9% or 319 students.
• Honolulu Community College has 4,139 students, a 3.8% decrease or 162 students.
• Kapi‘olani Community College enrolled 8,060 students, a drop of 460 or 5.4%
• Kaua‘i Community College registered 1,370 students, a gain of 3.1% or 41 students.
• Leeward Community College has 7,144 students enrolled, a decrease of 158 students or 2.2%.
• Windward Community College recorded 2,531 students , a decrease of 77 or 3%.

Total enrollment at the UH Community Colleges decreased to 30,462, a decline of 1,463 students or 4.6% below spring 2012. Kaua‘i Community College was the only community college campus to post an increase in enrollment. The remaining six community college campuses posted decreases ranging from 2.2% to 9%.

***Supporting information courtesy University of Hawai’i.