Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 3, 1 March 1989 — Community College Program Assists Hawaiians [ARTICLE]

Community College Program Assists Hawaiians

by Ken Meehan, Director Native Hawaiian Vocational Education Project Now in its second year, the Native Hawaiian Vocational Education Project (NHVEP) continues to provide a variety of services to Native Hawaiian community college students, with a focus on recruiting and helping them to successfully complete their studies. NHVEP is conducted by the University of Hawai'i Office of the Chancellor for Community Colleges, under contract with Alu Like, Ine. lt is a multi-faceted educational program aimed at increasing the enrollment, persistence, achievement, completion and transfer of Native Hawaiian students on all UH community college campuses. It provides a variety of direct student services to Native Hawaiian students through campus specialists in student counseling and retention. lnstitutional and personal barriers that Native Hawaiian community college students face were documented in a report last spring by the Native Hawaiian Community Col!eges Advisory Council. The goal of NHVEP is to provide services to students that will help them overcome these barriers to achievement. NHVEP, in conjunction with vocational education staff at Alu Like, has developed specific programs at eaeh campus and at the Office of the Chancellor. On eaeh community college campus, a committee of Hawaiian faculty and staff, along with others, has been formed to investigate problems

specific to eaeh campus and to provide recommendations for solving those problems. For example, at Maui Community College one of the problems has been to serve students on Moloka'i and Lana'i, as well as students in Hana. Counselors have been assigned to eaeh of those areas and the Skybridge telecommunication system has been incorporated in the delivery of student support services to those areas. While enrollment of Native Hawaiian students in the community colleges has grown steadily but modestly, from 8.5 percent in 1980 to 11.6 percent in 1986, significant barriers still remain. To increase enrollment, high school students are being recruited throughout the state, with particular outreach attention paid to those schools with a high percentage of Native Hawaiian students. On eaeh campus, an educational counselor has been hired and assigned to work with Native Hawaiian students. The services provided by this counselor include advising on application procedures, financial aid, academic programs, workstudy programs and personal needs, including child care. In addition, workshops are offered regularly and include programs on Hawaiian culture, learning styles, language, etc. In addition to direct student services, NHVEP is conducting staff development efforts to sensitize faculty and administrative staff in the community college system to problems facing Native Hawaiian students. This program aims to create a climate for understanding cultural and individual differences whieh ean be celebrated and incorporated in the

life of the campus. NHVEP also includes a program of institutional research to develop a systematic data base on the enrollment, achievement and graduation of Native Hawaiian students. A long-term student tracking system is being developed with the Nahonal Center for Higher Education Management Systems, of Boulder, Colorado that will make it possible to coordinate information about Native Hawaiian student performance in the community colleges, including graduation and transfer information. Information gained ean be used to promote institutional changes that will encourage and support Native Hawaiian students. The NHVEP works closely with the staff of Operation Kua'ana at the Manoa campus of the University of Hawai'i to help transferring students find a source of information and assistance. As a member of the Ohana of Hawai'i Educators ('OHE), the NHVEP shares resources with OHA, Kamehameha Schools/Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, the State of Hawai'i Department of Education, Alu Like, ine., and the University of Hawai'i at Manoa to develop systematic, concerted programs and activities that will help Native Hawaiians participate and succeed in higher education. To get help from NHVEP, eall the Dean of Student Services at your loeal community college or eall or write the Office of the ChanceIlor for Community Colleges, Native Hawaiian Vocational Education project, (phone 543-6631), 600 Pensaeola Street, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96814.