WINHEC Accreditation

WINHEC Accreditation

HSHK is accredited by WINHEC for a full ten-year term.

In March 2013, Hawai‘inuiākea hosted a team of indigenous scholars and administers to conduct the first comprehensive review of our indigenous college. Our task was to share the story of who we are and the workwe do to ground, empower, and engage students and communities in all forms of Hawaiian knowledge. The team consisted of Dr. Ray Barnhardt, Dr. Wayne Stein, Dr. Henrietta Mann, Dr. Jon Matsuoka, Te Pouhere Bentham Ohia, and specialist Kate Cherrington.

The site team began their journey exploring the richness of the muliwai of Waikīkī, to the Luahine rain of Mānoa, and finally to the stairs of Kamakakūokalani. The team spent three days closely examining every aspect of all of our programs, visiting classes, speaking with professors, instructors, staff, and students. They learned about the waiwai we foster each and every day to deeply impact and inspire the lives of our students. They saw the brilliance, genius, and grace that exist in our faculty, students, and staff across all of our programs.

Throughout the week the team spoke highly of our initiatives and programs. They noted that Hawai‘inuiākea is a model for an “academy without borders,” a community of highly accessible world class and emerging scholars where students have a wide range of traditional and non-traditional educational opportunities, graduating with a strong sense of place, purpose and kuleana.

At the end of the week, the team was unanimous in recommending that HSHK be awarded WINHEC accreditation for a full ten-year term. An additional recommendation to award permanent status to our provisional MA programs was also approved.

The site visit team’s observations noted how Hawai‘inuiākea has met and exceeded WASC accreditation standards, how we live into the kanaka maoli principles and values we have set for ourselves, how we contribute to our diverse communities locally and globally, and how Hawai‘inuiākea and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa can continue to grow and transform.