C3S (Cross-Campus Course Sharing)

Objectives

The primary objective of C3S is to increase the educational opportunities available to all UH students, by leveraging the University’s full academic portfolio. This will, in turn, facilitate students’ timely graduation while supporting UH transfer pathways. Although students have been able to register for courses across the UH Community College campuses rather freely for many years now, there are multiple barriers that currently prevent UH students from taking courses at four-year campuses (other than their home campus). These include the need to (1) apply for separate admission and pay application fees, (2) pay higher tuition rates or additional tuition beyond their home campus tuition, and (3) pay additional student fees at the other campus(es). For these reasons, it has been extremely difficult and rare for students at any UH campus to cross-register at one of the four-year campuses. Furthermore, C3S can offer the additional benefit of increasing the University’s operational efficiency by providing students with access to class “seats” in under-enrolled classes that would otherwise go unclaimed.

Benefits of C3S

Student Benefits:

• Flexibility in scheduling: Students can choose from a wider range of classes allowing them to find offerings that meet their scheduling needs.
• Increased course options: C3S allows students to access specialized courses not available at their home campus.
• Access to expertise: C3S enables students to learn from faculty experts in fields not represented within their home-campus faculty.
• Networking opportunities: Students can build connections and friendships with peers from across the UH System.

Institutional Benefits:

• Improved graduation rates: This can be achieved by providing students with more options to take required courses.
• Improved transfer processes: C3S will help smooth out “bumps” in the process by enabling students to access certain required courses at the destination campus prior to transfer.
• Operational efficiency: CS3 allows UH to operate more efficiently by helping to reduce the numbers of vacant seats in participating classes.
• Resource optimization: enables faculty members with low-enrolled courses to offer their classes to a wider audience.
• Reduced course duplication: C3S reduces the need for class duplication across campuses, which can result in cost savings for UH.

C3S Priorities

The UH System is cognizant of the needs of each campus to meet its own internal course demand as a first and foremost priority, in order to facilitate the timely graduation of its own students. To that end, the Council of Chief Academic Officers (CCAO) has engaged in discussions to determine what type of classes would be well suited for inclusion in this initiative moving forward. Factors and considerations identified by CCAO include:

(a) a desire to support state workforce needs;
(b) a preference to select courses that reside in key transfer pathways;
(c) the benefits of choosing online courses in order to ensure equity of access for students residing across the Hawaiian islands;
(d) the importance of avoiding the inclusion of courses for which the offering campus cannot meet its internal demand, and
(e) the prudence of focusing on courses that are already articulated and do not have onerous prerequisite requirements.

The ultimate benefit of the system can also be achieved by making our curriculum more accessible to students throughout the islands no matter where they reside.

Academic Year 2023-24 Pilot

The UH System embarked on a small-scale pilot of the cross-campus course sharing (C3S) initiative in fall semester of 2023, with a number of meetings and discussions occurring throughout the spring and summer of 2023. Additionally, the UH System Banner, STAR, and Bursar’s Office conducted an assortment of tests in a simulated environment to ensure that registration and the assessment of tuition and fees was occuring correctly. This was followed by a second C3S pilot in the spring of 2024. Many of the classes made available through C3S did not generate cross-campus enrollment, although notable success stories included HLTH 204: Introduction to Hawaiian and Indigenous Health and Healing (UH West O‘ahu) and SPED 304: Foundations of Inclusive Schooling (UH Mānoa). Despite a modest number of student registrations, the pilot successfully offered proof of concept while avoiding any significant unintended repercussions. Although the AY 2023-24 pilot was only available to UHCC students, the next step for AY 2024-25 is to expand the C3S initiative so that students at the four-year campuses can freely participate as well.

Fall 2024 C3S Pilot

For the first time in Fall 2024, C3S will be available to students at the three 4-year UH campuses, at a flat tuition rate of $306 per credit. Additional student fees assessed by the offering campus will be waived, as they are for UHCC C3S participants. The C3S course menu has also expanded significantly, and will feature the following courses, available to students across the ten UH campuses:

UH Mānoa:
Foundations in Inclusive Schooling (SPED 304)
Child Development from Prenatal Through Age Eight (STE 318)
Multicultural Perspectives in Education (STE 360)
Introduction to Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM 192)
Principles of Sustainability (NREM 251)
Introduction to Statistics (ECON 321)

UH West O‘ahu:
Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health and Healing (HLTH 204)
Introduction to Labor Studies (LBST 100)
Hawai‘i Labor, Media, and Film (LBST 200)
Labor Theory (LBST 300)
Politics and Public Policy (POLS 370)
The Meaning of Mass Media (POLS 378)
Introduction to Literary Studies (ENG 240)
Basic Theory and Aural Skills (MUS 280)
University Band (MUS 419)

UH Hilo:
College Physics I (PHYS 151)
College Physics I Lab (PHYS 151L)
Introduction to Theories of Human Communication (COM 270)
Career Opportunities in Sociology (SOC 200)
Data Science Fundamentals in R (CS 171)
Python for Data Analysis (CS 172)
Statistical Techniques (PSY 213)
First Level Trans Hawaiian Immersion (KHAW 103)
Base-level Fluency Hawn Med Ed (KHAW 490)

Faculty:
Please contact our office if you would like to know more about how to participate in the program during its initial phases.

Students:
C3S classes are now available in real-time, allowing students to easily register for them through STAR. Just pick your preferred campus, and you’ll find a list of accessible C3S classes in the registration menu.