UH Hilo Press Release
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Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Contact: Dr. Keith Miser, (808) 974-7334
For Immediate Release
UH Hilo enrollment surges to all-time high
Enrollment at the University of Hawaii at Hilo reached a historic high this fall semester with preliminary figures showing enrollment jumped by 8.8 percent to 3,340 students or 271 more students than Fall 2002. UH Hilo experienced the highest percentage gain in the entire UH system.
“This historical moment is something we have eagerly looked forward to,”said Chancellor Rose Tseng. “It is all the more amazing because this has occurred during lean budgetary times. But what we’ve lacked in financial resources we have more than made up for through the hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff and administration who believe so deeply in what we are trying to accomplish here.”
The latest figures extend a steady upward trend in enrollment that began in the fall of 1998, following a four-year decline and now spans six semesters. Enrollment has now increased by nearly 30 percent over the last six years.
“You really can’t overstate what a significant accomplishment this is,” said University Relations Director Gerald De Mello. “Those of us who experienced the high of 1993 and the low of 1997 felt if we could get back to 3,000 students the rate of growth would begin to pick up. But this is beyond anything we ever imagined.”
Another significant obstacle to growth has been a limited inventory of housing on campus. To accommodate the influx of students, the University has signed memorandums of understanding with several private apartment and housing complexes to help provide housing, including the Waiakea Lagoon View Apartments, Waiakea Villas, University Palms and Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel, which house a combined total of approximately 300 students.
“Housing has been a difficult challenge, but we are working on it with some initiatives that will help provide a long-term solution,” Tseng said. “In the meantime, we appreciate the support we have received from our private sector partners who have enabled us to address our immediate needs by providing a quality housing option.”
Overall, about two-thirds of UH Hilo’s enrollment is from Hawai`i. Students from Hawai`i County continue to constitute the largest and most significant group enrolled for Fall 2003. Over one-third of the student body is made up from Big Island families and nearly 25 percent or one-fourth of the enrolled students come from the three Hilo-area high schools: Hilo; Waiakea and St. Joseph.
At the same time, UH Hilo continues to be a popular choice for students outside Hawai`i. The University is the second most popular campus for students participating in National Student Exchange (NSE) to come to, with approximately 100 students enrolled for the fall semester. UH Hilo also maintains a national distinction for its high percentage of international students with 375, compared to 339 during Fall 2002.
The Fall 2003 enrollment figures further validate the findings in the recent editions of two national publications. U.S. News and World Report ranked UH Hilo sixth among national liberal arts colleges in campus diversity in its 2004 edition of the “America’s Best Colleges” guidebook. The University was also tied for fourth in percentage of international students with 12 percent of the school’s total degree-seeking undergraduates. Earlier, Outside Magazine, a national lifestyle publication, ranked UH Hilo 19th among the coolest places to work, study, party and live in its September 2003 issue.
“This growth is absolutely phenomenal,” said Dr. Keith Miser, vice chancellor for student affairs. “When you examine the jump in enrollment, combined with the findings of NSE and two national publications, I think it clearly demonstrates UH Hilo’s growing popularity as an academic institution located in a unique, natural environment.”
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