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UH Hilo Interim Chancellor Marcia Sakai meets with local press

September 28, 2018

Interim Chancellor Marcia Sakai hosted a Coffee Hour with the local press today on the campus of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. Interim Chancellor Sakai shared the following information in her PowerPoint.

The Flow

Large group of students and staff in orange safety vests, some hollding drones and other equipment.
UH HILO DRONE TEAM. UH Hilo had a vital role in response to the recent historic lava eruption on Hawaiʻi Island. In the photo above, students and staff, four holding drones used in aerial surveys, in the field at recent lava flow in Puna. The team piloted drones day and night to capture thermo data and imagery of lava flows, information critical to government agencies overseeing eruption response. They also analyzed threat to Puna Geothermal. Other teams of scientists analyzed chemistry of lava samples at labs on campus. Courtesy photo, click to enlarge.

UH Hilo Most Diverse Four-Year University in the Nation

Large group of students looking up to camera.
Freshman class during Orientation in August 2018. Courtesy photo, click to enlarge.

UH Hilo was recently ranked the Most Diverse 4-Year University in the Nation by the Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac 2018.

The Chronicle’s ranking of the top 10 most diverse public four-year universities and their corresponding diversity indexes:

  1. UH Hilo, 88.9
  2. Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology at Okmulgee, 87.1
  3. UH Maui College, 86.5
  4. UH West Oʻahu, 84.5
  5. Highline College, 81.9
  6. UH Mānoa, 81.6
  7. California State University, East Bay, 79.3
  8. Rutgers University-Newark, 78.9
  9. New Jersey Institute of Technology, 78.5
  10. Seattle Central College, 78.0

UH Hilo Entering Class 2018-19

Undergraduates

Data updated 09/22/2018

The University of Hawai‘i Hilo is renown for its cultural diversity, which is vibrantly reflected in the Entering Class of 2018-19. Our dynamic programs draw students from across Hawai‘i, the Pacific, and the world, creating academic and social opportunities that can be found nowhere else on Earth. If there was ever a place to be inspired, this is it. Join us, and find what inspires you…

CLASS SIZE

  • Applicants: 3,078
  • Accepted: 2,484
  • Enrolled: 1,017

STUDENT TYPE

  • Freshmen: 414
  • Transfer: 352
  • Returning: 85
  • Exchange Students: 72
  • Unclassified: 94
  • International: 94
  • New Graduate Students: 228
  • Pre-Nursing: 125
  • Pre-Engineering: 8
  • Early College/Running Start: 92
  • WUE Program Students: 107
  • High School GPA: 3.5
  • Female: 66%
  • Male: 34%
  • Race/Ethnicity
    • Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 37%
    • Caucasian: 26%
    • Asian: 17%
    • Mixed Race: 15%
    • Hispanic: 3%
    • African American: 1%
    • American Indian/Alaska Native: 1%

WHERE ARE THEY FROM?

  • Hawai‘i Island: 544
  • O‘ahu: 114
  • Maui: 22
  • Kaua‘i: 17
  • Molokai: 5
  • Hawai‘i Residents: 67%
  • States Represented: 36
  • Top Five States: Hawai‘i, California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon

TOP FIVE MAJORS

  • Business Adminstration
  • Marine Science
  • Biology
  • Psychology
  • Kinesiology

TOP INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION

  • Japan
  • Micronesia
  • Palau
  • New Zealand
  • Marshall Islands
  • South Korea
  • Spain
  • Canada
  • United Kingdom
  • Norway

Enrollment Management Plan: Actions

  • Increase strategic use of financial aid for optimal enrollment and retention
  • Fully implement Transfer Center and increase UH Community College transfer events/recruitment
  • Expand and enhance digital outreach
  • Develop a service learning/community engagement program across all academic units
  • Implement Purpose First integrating major choice, career exploration and employment advising
  • Enhance Living Learning Communities and University Success Courses (UNIV 101 & UNIV 102)
  • Increase participation in peer mentoring program, Mentor Collective, for new freshmen and transfer students
  • Expand on new efforts to communicate important information and deadlines
  • Expand peer advising and peer tutoring/learning assistants with a focus on freshmen
  • Increase utilization of MySuccess across campus
  • Establish retention data for individual major programs and work with departments to identify ways to increase persistence

Key Initiatives

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

  • NEW COLLEGE OF NATURAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
    • Opened July 1, 2018
    • To focus on support for natural and health sciences education, especially laboratory, course, and research needs
    • To address growing needs in health professions, computer science, human and natural resource management, natural product and food safety, data analytics
    • To improve budgetary planning, control, and accountability in the natural and health sciences

STUDENT AFFAIRS

  • FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE (Previously named New Student Programs)
    • Orientation PLUS year-long program for ALL new students
    • To bolster first-year retention through transition and engagement
    • FIRST SIX: Focused events and info sessions in first six weeks of semester
    • MENTOR COLLECTIVE: Pairs new students with current student mentors to assist with transition

Infrastructure Improvements

Covered stations with picnic tables, students seated at tables.
The covered recharging stations outside the Student Services Center. Photo by Raiatea Arcuri/UH Hilo Stories, click to enlarge.

NEW OUTDOOR GATHERING PLACES

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

  • Air conditioning
  • Energy Storage Project
  • Green Waste to Energy Project
  • Pharmacy Building
  • Maunakea Facilities

Aloha and Mahalo

Aerial

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