UH considers The University of Hawaii Board of Regents will consider a proposal today to establish an undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in marine biology in the 2003 academic year, which proponents say could spur student enrollment on the Manoa campus.
marine-biology degree
A bachelor's program could
raise Manoa's enrollment and
profile, administrators sayBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comCharles Hayes, dean of the College of Natural Sciences, which proposed the program, said the question asked most often by students considering UH-Manoa is whether it has an undergraduate marine biology degree. If the board approves the program, he said, "We will be getting more students here in the future."
The Marine Option Program, directed by Sherwood Maynard in the college, is expected to play a strong role in the marine biology program.
He said "it's about time" UH-Manoa offered an undergraduate marine biology degree, and once the word gets out, "we're going to be buried in applications.
"I think it'll take the university a step toward really becoming a pre-eminent institution, really, in the world for the study of marine biology. We've been kind of incomplete without a good, solid bachelor's degree in ocean studies."
The proposal cites Hawaii's unique location and subtropical marine resources.
"Nowadays, students are more aware of global warming, species extinction and the marine environment," the proposal says. "They want to study the marine organisms and their interrelationships with the environment."
The UH has offered a bachelor degree with specialization in marine biology since 1996, but students "didn't buy into it," the proposal said. "They want a bona fide marine biology degree on their record, so they choose to attend UH-Hilo, Hawaii Pacific University or a mainland university instead."
UH-Hilo offers a marine science program with more than 200 majors, while "no marine biology major has ever been offered at this flagship campus of the UH system," the proposal notes.
In a memorandum to Agnes Fok, director of the biology program, Maynard said the Marine Option Program offered undergraduate marine certificates in the 1980s, including one in marine biology.
Only five students signed up in five years and completed the certificate, he said. Students surveyed said they did not want to spend an extra semester of undergraduate study "just for a certificate," he said. "They wanted a degree labeled 'marine biology.' "
The proposal envisions drawing on faculty from other disciplines and schools on campus for a "balanced curriculum" in marine biology.
University of Hawaii
