UH Enrollment at Record High, Maui Up 3.9 %

By Wendy Osher

UHMC. Photo by Wendy Osher.

More students are hitting the books in Hawai’i, according to the latest enrollment figures released by the University of Hawai’i System.

The University of Hawai’i Maui College saw a 3.9% increase in enrollment for the Fall with 4,518 students registered, 168 more than last year.

That represents the largest numerical gain and the greatest percentage gain among the seven UH community colleges.

The University of Hawai’i System as a whole reached another record high, with 60,519 students enrolled in Fall 2011, 288 more than the previous year.  That surpasses the record enrollment of Fall 2010 by 0.5%.

Fall opening enrollment at UH has increased for a fifth straight year, growing 20% since 2006.

“Enrollment at our University of Hawai‘i campuses today is 10,000 students greater than it was five years ago, which shows that people understand higher education is a good investment,” said UH Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost Linda Johnsrud.

Johnsrud said the the university remains committed to supporting student success as it works toward a goal of increasing the number of college graduates by 2015, as outlined in the Hawai’i Graduation Initiative.

Enrollment at UH Mānoa, UH Hilo and UH West O‘ahu all increased from a year ago, while  a small decrease was reported at the UH Community Colleges.

• UH West O‘ahu enrolled its fifth freshman class and significantly increased enrollment to 1,699 students.
• UH Hilo, enrollment increased to 4,149, with a gain of 64 students, or 1.6%, over the previous year.
• UH Mānoa enrollment increased to 20,313, with a gain of 176 students, or 0.9% more students.

At the community colleges, four campuses reported decreases, and three had increases including UHMC.  Details from each campus are as follows:

• Hawai‘i CC recorded 3,933 students, a gain of 83 or 2.2%;
• Honolulu CC enrolled 4,656 students, a decrease of 119 or 2.5%;
• Kapi‘olani CC enrolled 9,133 students, a decrease of 313 or 3.3%;
• Kaua‘i CC recorded 1,434 students, a decrease of eight or 0.6%;
• Leeward CC registered 7,947 students, a decrease of 44 or 0.6%;
• UH Maui College totaled 4,518 students, a gain of 168 or 3.9%; and
• Windward CC recorded 2,737 students, a gain of 76 or 2.9%.

UH also had approximately 28,000 registrations in non-credit programs throughout the 10-campus system.