A student walks across the UH-Maui campus on the first day of the fall semester on Aug. 28. Photo courtesy UH-Maui

The Maui News

Enrollment at the University of Hawai’i Maui College is up 7.5 percent this fall over the fall 2022 semester, the college said.

“After years of declining college enrollment nationwide, this is a very positive and hopeful sign, especially coming as it does after our tragic fires,” UH-MC Chancellor Lui Hokoana in a news release.

The biggest increases are in the categories of “returning” students and “other” students. “Returning” students are those who have taken time away from continuing their education and have since returned. The “other” students are those from other UH campuses taking UH-MC classes.

Enrollment of “other” students is up 28 percent, following the general trend of more online availability and more options. Transfer students are up by 54 percent. Cohorts of unclassified students — those in noncredit programs, those taking very specific courses — is up by 90 percent. One example is a cohort of state Department of Education teachers enrolled in Hawaiian language and Hawaiian history courses, the news release said.

Although there is no data to explain the increase, waning concern about COVID-19 may play a role, the college said.

And, it appears anecdotally that students want a safe space where they can focus their energies, especially in the aftermath of the fires.

“We’ve heard from students that after the fires, many of them didn’t want to start or return to our college,” Hokoana said. “They wanted to be close to their families and they wanted to help their communities. So it was important for us not just to support them but to provide opportunities for them to help while still attending classes.”

UH-MC’s Culinary Arts Program made a pivot and instead of the regular first eight-week module of classes, the faculty and students took over a food prep hub that was established on campus on Aug. 10 and continues to prepare meals for displaced residents.

“This is my opportunity to give back,” second-year student Raiden Baraoidan of Lahaina said. “If it wasn’t for this program and my family’s encouragement, I wouldn’t be here right now. I had second thoughts about coming back, but my parents said ‘keep going, finish school.'”

The recent tragedy has also put things in perspective for Baraoidan.

“Being a full-time student, having to attend classes, do assignments, taking tests, completing finals, and dealing with my personal struggles, are nothing in comparison to what my community is going through. Absolutely nothing,” he said. “My only ambition right now is to do anything I can to help my community.”