Students praise
3 Hawaii colleges

Hawaii Community College, Maui Community College and Windward Community College are among the top small colleges in the country for student engagement and learning.

That's according to the results of a national survey of students designed to encourage students to be actively involved with their education.

The Community College Survey of Student Engagement report released last month ranked the three schools as scoring in the top 20 percent of small colleges that participated in the survey.

"The more engaged students are, the more likely they are to stay in school ... the more likely they are to learn at higher levels," said Kay McClenney, the director of the survey, based at the University of Texas at Austin.

Research shows that the more actively engaged students are -- with college faculty and staff, with other students and with the subject matter -- the more likely they are to learn and to achieve their academic goals.

The survey is designed to measure how well a college performs in five categories. About 400 to 500 students were surveyed in each school.

All three Hawaii colleges scored high in "active and collaborative learning," "academic challenge" and "support for learners."

Hawaii CC and Maui CC also were among the best performing schools in "student effort," while students rated Windward CC high for "student-faculty interaction."

"We just feel so glad that ... behind our backs, our students are saying wonderful things about us," said Maui CC Chancellor Clyde Sakamoto.

The report cited Hawaii Community College's community development class as an example of a good student engagement strategy.

The class spearheaded an effort to start a community center.

Students helped organize community meetings, met with the mayor, and solicited volunteers and donations to open the center.