The University of Hawaiʻi has offered nearly 2,000 eligible community college students admission to any of the university’s four-year campuses through the automatic admission program. UH used the degree audit system known as STAR, which identifies and notifies students who meet the automatic admission criteria.
Students were notified beginning February 2, 2015 and given a March 2, 2015 deadline to accept automatic admission to one of the university’s four-year campuses. Over the past five years, UH offered more than 18,000 students automatic admission. Nearly 5,000 students utilized the program by transferring to UH Mānoa, UH Hilo or UH West Oʻahu.
“The goal of the automatic admission program was simply to remove barriers for our students,” said Joanne Itano, associate vice president for academic affairs. “Community colleges are increasingly a primary entry point for students who transfer to UH’s four-year campuses and this program offers them a streamlined process.”
Automatic admission allows UH Community College students who are completing their associate of arts or select associate of science degrees to transfer to a four-year campus in the UH System without having to reapply. Since the process is done electronically, the application fee is waived, saving students between $50 and $70. STAR notifies students who are eligible via email and students electronically select the campus of their choice and their intended major. This simplifies the transfer process for students wishing to continue on their path towards a four-year degree.
Automatic admission was conceptualized by UH’s flagship campus, UH Mānoa, and is part of UH’s Hawaiʻi Graduation Initiative which aims to increase the number of Hawaiʻi citizens with a college degree or certificate and meet the state’s goal of seeing 55 percent of working-age adults with a two or four-year degree by the year 2025.
For more information on the Hawaiʻi Graduation Initiative and some of the campus initiatives, please visit the initiative’s website.
