UH-Manoa loses students

Community colleges pick up slack as enrollment dips

Enrollment at the University of Hawaii at Manoa dipped slightly this fall, while community colleges saw a small increase -- the beginnings of what some see as a possible trend as tuition at UH-Manoa rises 140 percent over the next six years.

Preliminary enrollment figures as of Friday show UH-Manoa with 20,307 students, 312 fewer than last fall or a 1.5 percent decrease.

Community college enrollment was up by 199 students or 0.8 percent to 25,390.

UH-Manoa administrators say a decline in fall enrollment was expected.

Enrollment dipped the last time UH increased tuition, before it rebounded a couple of years later, said UH-Manoa spokesman Jim Manke.

Manke said the university has seen an increase in the number of graduates recently -- a possible indication that tuition increases spurred some students to finish school early or on-time, rather than stretch out their education and pay the extra tuition.

Potential students also tend to put off going to college when the economy is strong, Manke said.

Linda Johnsrud, UH vice president for academic planning and policy, said university officials expect more students will enroll at community colleges for their first few years, rather than pay higher prices at Manoa.

"It makes a lot of sense," Johnsrud said. "Students are wise shoppers."

Windward Community College, Kapiolani Community College, Kauai Community College are seeing the biggest enrollment increases this fall.

Kapiolani Community College has 173 more students for an enrollment of 7,480, a 2.4 percent increase. Windward is up by 54 students to 1,786, a 3.1 percent increase and Kauai Community College is up by 56 students for an enrollment of 1,116, a 5.3 percent increase.

Johnsrud said the university will be monitoring transfer rates from the community colleges to other UH campuses to see if students entering community college continue their education in the system.

Pam Nakanelua, a student at Windward Community College, plans to transfer to UH-Manoa in the spring to complete her degree in family resources.

But she will still take classes at Windward because it's "way cheaper."

She also gets financial aid, so less expensive classes could mean more money for books and other needs.

Nakanelua said she also likes the smaller class size. "Individualized attention and the teachers knowing who you are really makes a difference in learning," she said.

Nakanelua, 40, entered school after having children.

She's encouraging her son and daughter, who are both of college age, to also go to community college before transferring.

Windward Chancellor Angela Meixell said community colleges have also been increasing their outreach to prospective students, after seeing enrollment declines in fall 2004 and 2005.

Community college enrollment began picking up last spring. If the trend continues, community colleges will need to start preparing for an influx of students, Meixell said.

"It's something we should all look at," she said. "It might be an efficient use of state resources to do it that way."

Honolulu Community College also saw a 0.8 percent increase in enrollment while Hawaii Community College, Maui Community College and Leeward Community College saw slight declines.

Preliminary numbers for all of the 10-campus UH system and for UH-Hilo and UH-West Oahu are expected to be available on Tuesday.

Johnsrud said from what she's seen so far, there appears to be little change in enrollment system-wide, so it appears students are not discouraged by tuition costs from attending at least one of the 10 UH campuses -- even if enrollment is down at the flagship UH-Manoa campus.

"If these numbers hold, I'm really gratified because there's a concern when you raise tuition is that it will have an effect on access to higher education," Johnsrud said.

ENROLLMENT TRENDS MIXED ACROSS UH SYSTEM Preliminary enrollment figures for the University of Hawaii at Manoa and community colleges. UH-MANOA » Fall '06: 20,307 » Fall '05: 20,619 312 students, or 1.5 percent ALL COMMUNITY COLLEGES » Fall '06: 25,587 » Fall '05: 25,390 199 students, or 0.8 percent HAWAII COMMUNITY COLLEGE » Fall '06: 2,353 » Fall '05: 2,370 17 students, or 0.7 percent HONOLULU COMMUNITY COLLEGE » Fall '06: 4,194 » Fall '05: 4,160 34 students, or 0.8 percent KAPIOLANI COMMUNITY COLLEGE » Fall '06: 7,480 » Fall '05: 7, 307 173 students, or 2.4 percent KAUAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE » Fall '06: 1,116 » Fall '05: 1.060 56 students, or 5.3 percent LEEWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE » Fall '06: 5,823 » Fall '05: 5,879 56 students, or 1 percent MAUI COMMUNITY COLLEGE » Fall '06: 2,847 » Fall '05: 2,894 47 students, or 1.6 percent WINDWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE » Fall '06: 1,786 » Fall '05: 1,732 54 students, or 3.1 percent UH-HILO and UH-WEST OAHU enrollment numbers were not available Friday. Source: UH Office of Academic Planning and Policy