Megumi Makino-Kanehiro, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Disclaimer: This article was written prior to the start of COVID-19. As a result, this article does not address how the overall recruitment challenges are rapidly changing in light of social distancing and quarantine restrictions. The underlying issue of retention itself remains the same.

The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), in many ways, is unique. It is one of the few land-, sea-, sun-, and space- grant research institutions.  The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is considered one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in the nation. Per the Mānoa Institutional Research Office (MIRO) website, its unique mix of students provide a rich spectrum of experiences. Beyond a simple division of in-state and out-of-state students, UHM students represent 115 Countries and Regions. Although the majority of students (64%) are in-state students, 30% of students are out-of-state / National students, and 7% of students are international. The self-identified ethnicities of students at UHM include 35.9% Asian (Filipino, Mixed Asian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean), 24.9% Caucasian, 18.6% Native Hawaiian, and 16.4% multiracial. Smaller self-identifying groups include Hispanic (1.8%), African American (1.6%), and American Indian or Alaskan Native (4%) (MIRO 2020). 

The Grass Is Always Greener

The distance and at least 2,250 miles of ocean separate incoming students from their families and friends. This is a factor that is different from many schools, where it is always possible, though not always practical, to get in a car and drive home (Johnson, 2018). This makes UHM a commuter campus unlike any other. Even students who hail from Neighbor Islands must board airplanes to travel between the islands.

The psychological impact of living on islands is reflected in its people. There are a number or anecdotal reasons why we lose students from Hawai‘i to other institutions. Some students are interested in majors that are not offered in our system schools, so it makes sense for them to go elsewhere to specialize in their chosen field. Other students who go away often fall into two categories: 

• Students who grow up their entire lives in Hawaiʻi experience island fever and dream of going away, sure that far away shores will offer them more prestige. They make deals with their parents and agree to attend school for their first two years in Hawaiʻi on the condition that they be allowed to complete their last two years at a school on the Mainland.

• Conversely, students want to stay in Hawai‘i, and parents make deals with them, allowing them to stay at home for two years, but then forcing them to move away so that they can graduate with a degree from what they view to be a higher-ranking school. What they do not realize is that the University of Hawai‘i System offers some of the best programs in the nation. In her book, Going against the grain: When professionals in Hawai‘i choose public schools instead of private schools, Bayer (2009) documents how many public school educators, despite having a strong abiding commitment to educating the children of Hawai‘i, send their own children to private schools, and later, away to attend college or university on the Mainland.

It should be noted that a number of these students discover that going away is not what they had hoped for and return from the Mainland after a year, sometimes even after a semester.

• The term “the Mainland” is not an official place, but the term is commonly used to refer to the continental United States. The nickname points to an inherent superiority attributed to the continent, indicating that Hawai‘i is somehow minor or less significant that the “main” land. This term has been ingrained in the consciousness of those who live in Hawai‘i; ironically,  the term “Mainland” is used only by local people or those who have spent a considerable part of their lives in Hawai‘i. Some individuals, conscious of this concern, have taken to using the term “the continent,” which eliminates innate judgement.  

Paradise Not Found: Why We Lose Students Coming from Elsewhere

Students come to Hawai‘i for many reasons. Every year, one of the largest groups of incoming students indicate they wish to pursue Marine Biology. Many of them change majors, after realizing the amount of science required and often, after recognizing that they do not have the background that would adequately prepare them to succeed. 

Recent reports show that UHM struggles with a disproportionate loss of male students from the continental United States. Some have hypothesized that these students are surfers, who come to Hawai‘i on an extended surfing field trip. Anecdotally, in my advising sessions, while there may have been a few exceptions, I have generally not found this to be true. 

When welcoming out-of-state or international students, I often ask them more about how they decided to attend UHM and their previous experience in living in Hawai‘i. A few actually come to Hawai‘i without ever visiting here previously. These students, in my experience, have come to pursue majors that are top ranked, such as Marine Biology. More often, students select UHM because they have been here previously, on family trips. Others were born here and have family ⎼ and cultural ties ⎼ which they wish to strengthen. Still others are military dependents who are transferred to Hawai‘i for a rotation. 

Students often articulate that Hawai‘i is different from what they expected when they first arrived. Often portrayed in an oversimplified way by the media and advertisements as paradise, a melting pot of ethnicities, living in Hawai‘i despite its amazing benefits also has its share of issues and challenges. Although UHM tuition is competitive with other schools, the cost of living is extremely high. The cost of owning a home is often beyond many family’s reach. Las Vegas has been dubbed the “ninth island” because so many people from Hawai‘i have moved there to be able to afford existence.

Beyond this, I believe that living in Hawai’i reflects a range of complexities. As with any place, Hawai‘i has its own unique local culture which evolves out of a sense of shared values (the importance of ‘ohana, an understanding of kuleana, support for malama ‘āina, respect for different perspectives, a shared appreciation of other cultures)  Some students have not previously interacted with such a range of diversity before and may be forced to face their own privilege in new ways.

One Path Forward

Both groups of students (those who want to leave or whose parents want them to leave and those who find that Hawaiʻi is not what they expect) grapple with expectations that may or may not line up with reality. I believe that the answer to our retention issues, both for students who want to leave (or whose parents want them to leave) and for students who contemplate leaving, lies in education. At UHM, we teach students many things, but one of the things we need to teach them is how to better understand and appreciate Hawai‘i and the University. 

UHM went through a competitive process and is one of 25 schools nationally allowed to host a Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center initiative. The Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Office, led by Punihei Lipe and Sonya Zabala, has trained three cohorts of the TRHT at the University. The first cohort was a student cohort of both undergraduate and graduate students. The second cohort, of which I was a part, included a mix of faculty, staff and community members. The last cohort consisted of administrators. 

Although I was born on the continent, I consider myself a local person since I have grown up and lived in Hawai‘i for most of my life and I earned all three degrees at UHM. Still, I learned so much in TRHT’s one-week intensive program that I had never known, both about our campus’ complex history and Hawaiʻi itself. Having had the hands-on experience of learning at Ka Papa Lo‘i o Kanewai made me connected to the campus in a deeply visceral way. Interacting with other faculty and staff members on issues of race and ethnicity also made me reflect on my identity, my privilege, and reminded me of the importance of making everyone feel welcome. Was TRHT transformative? Yes. After going through the TRHT, I emerged feeling grounded, with renewed energy and commitment.

A number of caring individuals at various levels of our campus have discussed how we need to do a better job highlighting what we do well at Mānoa. Many of these same individuals have articulated a need to establish traditions and foster a stronger sense of Mānoa’s campus identity. I agree. However, before we do either of these things, I believe the key is to train everyone at UHM, in whatever ways possible in programs such as TRHT. The first step is to return to the heart of the matter. If students, faculty/staff, and administrators can develop a shared understanding and appreciation for Mānoa, natural outcomes will consist of a desire to highlight our achievements, a better sense of what traditions should be established, and a strong campus identity.

Megumi Makino-Kanehiro, PhD
Director / Academic Advisor
Mānoa Advising Center
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
makino@hawaii.edu

REFERENCES

Bayer, A.S. (2009). Going against the grain: When professionals in Hawai‘i choose public schools instead of private schools (Honolulu: U of Hawai‘i Press). 

Johnson, S. L.  (2018). Why seniors leave and why they return: An exploratory case study.  Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice.   https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025118800263

Mānoa Institutional Research Office. (2020). University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Fast Facts. https://manoa.hawaii.edu/miro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/401OL19-Fast_Facts_2019_MIRO-scaled.jpg