Student populations at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Hawaii Community College decreased again this fall, but the enrollment declines are significantly smaller than in past years.
According to fall 2019 census numbers released last week by UH, the student population at UH-Hilo slipped 1% compared to fall 2018, or by 34 students, to 3,372.
Last fall, enrollment declined 3.8% from the prior year, down 133 students to 3,406.
At HCC, student counts dipped just 0.6%, from 2,632 last fall to 2,615 this fall. In fall 2018, HCC enrollment declined 6.6% from the previous year.
Enrollment has long been a challenge for UH-Hilo, with student populations declining every year since 2012 when it peaked at 4,157 students after several years of growth.
At HCC, enrollment has similarly declined each year after peaking at 3,917 students in 2011.
“This is still seven years of consecutive decrease, but the lowest decrease in those years,” said Farrah-Marie Gomes, vice chancellor for student affairs at UH-Hilo. “Over the last six years, we’ve ranged from being down 2.4% to being down 4.3%, so being down just 1% is huge for us.”
In those years, student populations each fall semester decreased anywhere from 95-163 students compared to the prior year.
“I’d like to think it means the strategy and intentionality that we’ve put into the initiative, and actions that we provided resources toward for campus projects, are having an impact,” Gomes said. “We’ve made choices to fund certain positions and not to fund others. We’ve made choices to partner with certain other institutions in hopes of seeing improvement in those areas, and some of that is starting to pay off as well.”
The university’s biggest enrollment gains this fall were in first-time freshmen and transfer students.
UH-Hilo welcomed 450 first-time freshmen — the university’s goal for the year and an 8.7% gain from last fall.
UH-Hilo’s work with EAB, a higher education consulting firm, on recruitment efforts for first-time freshmen led to an increase of applications and acceptances to the university for the current school year.
“That 450 (first-time freshman) goal we set for ourselves was projecting the impact that EAB would have,” Gomes said.
UH-Hilo also saw an 11.8% increase in new transfer students.
According to Gomes, the university hired a transfer admission counselor, who is based on Oahu where four of the UH Community Colleges are located, “with intent of increasing the pipeline of students transferring from those community colleges to Hilo upon graduation with their associates degree.”
UH-Hilo’s freshman retention rate, meaning freshmen students who return for their sophomore year, also hit a record high 72.7% this semester. That’s 6.7% better than last fall and is “the highest retention rate we’ve seen since 2005,” Gomes said.
To improve retention rates, Gomes said UH-Hilo implemented a “University 101” course called “Paths to Academic and Lifelong Success,” which teaches students skills they need to be successful in the college environment.
That’s paired with Living Learning Communities, where students take classes and live together within six different communities selected based on interests as opposed to majors — business, creative arts, sustainability, Hawaiian culture, health and wellness, and natural sciences.
Gomes said those communities give students the opportunity to “bond and build relationships with other freshmen who may experience similar types of situations and can help each other through those situations.”
“I believe our increased retention is due to the renewed spirit of teamwork around providing the best possible support for students, from recruiting students who are more likely to stay to supporting them with advising and financial aid to rethinking the way we teach,” said UH-Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin. “I am very pleased to see that the work our admissions office has done with EAB is paying off. We will continue to make sure UH-Hilo is not the ‘best kept secret,’ but rather a destination for Hawaii and mainland students who want an excellent education in a supportive environment.”
Gomes said the university, however, still needs to focus attention on retention efforts for continuing students.
“Continuing to work on retention efforts not just for first-time freshmen but for all students, will contribute to healthier enrollments going (forward),” she said.
To address that area, Gomes said UH-Hilo is looking at ways to better engage students in their sophomore year and begin conversations about careers earlier.
At HCC, Chancellor Rachel Solemsaas said while student enrollment is down just 0.6% this fall, “we are up when it comes to student credit hours, which means students we do have are enrolling in more classes, which is good. We want our students to definitely … enroll in more classes and graduate as soon as possible.”
Solemsaas said HCC has been “really evaluating the process flow for students as they register,” and made several efficiencies.
The school now reaches out to students once they apply as opposed to waiting for the semester to start before touching base. And when new students come in for advising and information, faculty and staff also help with orientation and registration “so they don’t have to go back and forth to complete enrollment,” Solemsaas said.
She said the numbers this fall are great and a move in the right direction, “but I know we can do more — a lot more.”
Throughout the UH system, enrollment decreased by about 2% this fall compared to the fall 2018 semester, from 51,063 students to 49,977. Nine of the 10 campuses within the UH system saw declines.
Windward Community College is the only campus to see an enrollment increase, with 2.4% growth.
Email Stephanie Salmons at ssalmons@hawaiitribune-herald.com.