The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College have finalized a new “2+2 degree pathway” agreement for students studying sociology. The agreement allows students at Hawaiʻi CC earning an associate in liberal arts degree with a concentration in sociology to plan to transfer, with all their credits, into the bachelor of arts in sociology program at UH Hilo.
The overall goal of 2+2 transfer programs is to expand options for community college students interested in earning a bachelor’s degree. The terms of the new sociology agreement focus resources from both campuses–including shared responsibilities for student recruitment, academic advising and support. This improves the process of students planning Hawaiʻi CC courses and transferring into the UH Hilo program. Kris Roney, UH Hilo’s vice chancellor for academic affairs, said the work to assure an efficient pathway for students in sociology is another excellent outcome of the partnership between UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi CC.
“Facilitating transfer for students who seek a bachelor’s degree is a moral imperative, and I am grateful to the faculty and staff who brought this articulation agreement to fruition,” said Roney.
Key UH faculty involved in the initiative are both long-time professors Trina Nahm-Mijo, who recently retired after 43 years as professor and department chair of social sciences at Hawaiʻi CC, and Professor of Sociology Marilyn Brown at UH Hilo.
“The sociology department is very happy to be part of this 2 + 2 transfer program,” said Brown. “Transfer students have always been so important to our major. Hawaiʻi Community College students especially have long been some of our strongest students and contributors to the department. We’re very happy to have our long-standing relationship with Hawaiʻi CC formalized in this way to the mutual benefit of our campuses and students.”
Many UH Hilo graduates in sociology have sought careers as social workers, counselors, case workers and program administrators. Related fields can vary from health care, gerontology, education, workforce development, domestic violence, marriage and family support, community development, recreation, children’s programs and criminology.
For more, go to UH Hilo Stories.
—Story by Susan Enright
