According to University of Hawaiʻi research, less than 3 percent of Native Hawaiian students transfer out of its community colleges system to attend UH Mānoa, and that only half of the university’s Native Hawaiian students graduate on time.
A new partnership between Kamehameha Schools and the University of Hawaiʻi System will give Native Hawaiian students a solid cultural and educational foundation, preparing them for sustained success in college and in life.
The statewide partnership is called Hui Hoʻopili ʻĀina – which is intended to mean a group who is committed to growing and maintaining strong relationships with land and those who steward it. The partnership is aimed at increasing Hawaiian student success at the post-secondary level while advancing Hawaiian culture, language and knowledge.
“Through this multifaceted collaboration, early college work is a top priority,” said KS Chief Executive Officer Jack Wong. “It will offer Native Hawaiian students opportunities to earn college credits in high school and increasing rates of post-secondary enrollment and completion. Other aspects of this work include, ʻāina-, Hawaiian culture-, and language-based pathways.”
At the heart of Hui Hoʻopili ʻĀina, is the desire of both organizations to foster crucial community collaborations with like-minded institutions to achieve mutual educational goals, using data to inform progress.
“This partnership is an important step in fulfilling our commitment to developing community partnerships that advance our indigenous-serving goals while developing Native Hawaiians for leadership roles in the University of Hawaiʻi’s ten campuses and the community,” said UH President David Lassner.
“It’s really is about leveraging the investments that we’re both making toward our common interests. We are both committed to the success of Native Hawaiian students and to the preservation and support of Native Hawaiian culture and language and the environment. These are values that we share.”
These common values are reflected in the UH System’s Strategic Directions 2015-2021, as well as Kamehameha’s Strategic Vision 2040.
“The goal of our vision for 2040 is a thriving Lāhui (people) within a generation,” Wong said. “With 14,000 Native Hawaiian students matriculating through the UH system each year, it is our kuleana to create the opportunity for each of those students to realize their fullest potential and to emerge as leaders for the next generation.”
With 14,000 Native Hawaiian students matriculating through the UH system each year, it is our kuleana to create the opportunity for each of those students to realize their fullest potential and to emerge as leaders for the next generation.
Jack Wong, KS Chief Executive Officer
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