{"id":137378,"date":"2021-03-24T09:40:19","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T19:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=137378"},"modified":"2021-03-24T09:36:58","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T19:36:58","slug":"report-shows-college-enrollment-disrupted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/03\/24\/report-shows-college-enrollment-disrupted\/","title":{"rendered":"Report shows college enrollment disrupted for Hawai\u02bbi<\/span>\u2019s class of 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"book<\/p>\n

While Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s public high school class of 2020 achieved the highest on-time graduation rate ever recorded with 86% of students graduating on time, it also experienced the steepest decline in college enrollment over one year, with 50% for the class of 2020 enrolling in college immediately after graduation, as compared to 55% for the class of 2019. That\u2019s according to the annual College and Career Readiness Indicators Report<\/a> (CCRI<\/abbr>) which is published by Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> P–20 Partnerships for Education<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The pivot to virtual learning, compounded with the public health and economic crisis and other disruptions caused by the pandemic affected all students; however, those with fewer resources to begin with may have experienced greater hardship. Thirty-eight percent of students from economically disadvantaged households enrolled in college in 2020, compared to 44% the year earlier, and students who identify as Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, also experienced larger declines in college enrollment. Thirty-five percent of Native Hawaiians in the class of 2020 enrolled in college compared to 44% in the class of 2019, and 29% of Pacific Islanders enrolled, compared to 35% the year before. <\/p>\n

“This pandemic’s negative impacts were not equal across socio-economic and demographic groups. The good news is that this data is being used by public high schools and UH<\/abbr> campuses as the basis for shared and immediate planning and action,” said Stephen Schatz<\/strong>, executive director of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> P–20 Partnerships for Education.<\/p>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s public school graduates enrolled in college at higher rates than students across the nation. A preliminary study by the National Student Clearinghouse found that enrollment of high school seniors immediately after graduation decreased to 27.7%, from 35.3% the year before. Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s public school class of 2020 graduates\u2019 college enrollment decreased to 50.2% from 54.7% for the class of 2019. Despite this drop, enrollment of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s senior class to UH<\/abbr> campuses remained steady throughout the previous year, at 32%. <\/p>\n

Next steps<\/h2>\n

As schools transitioned to virtual learning in March 2020, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> P–20, UH<\/abbr> Community Colleges, the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Department of Education and community partners quickly devised a program called Next Steps to Your Future<\/a> to support the class of 2020\u2019s transition to higher education. Students were offered the opportunity to take free summer career exploration courses at the UH<\/abbr> Community Colleges, and if they opted, were teamed with academic counselors and advisors for one-on-one support through virtual meetings and text messages. All of the 2,154 students who participated in Next Steps to Your Future were also eligible for $2 million in scholarships, funded by the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Community Foundation and First Hawaiian Bank. <\/p>\n

“Vital work continues to advance our high school graduates toward achieving their college aspirations, despite the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Department of Education Superintendent Christina Kishimoto. “Collaborations with Â鶹´«Ã½campuses and community partners have helped our college readiness programs to keep students motivated and focused on their higher education goals.”<\/p>\n

Students in the class of 2021 are encouraged to sign up for Next Steps to Your Future<\/a> for free classes at UH<\/abbr> community colleges, free advising and the opportunity to receive scholarships designated for participants.<\/p>\n

“We continuously work to smooth the pathways for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s public school graduates to advance themselves by enrolling in a University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> campus,” said UH<\/abbr> President David Lassner<\/strong>. “Next Steps to Your Future is an amazing program for the classes of 2021 and 2020 that provides free support, encouragement and a head-start on college to help our recent high school graduates continue on pathways that lead to better futures.”<\/p>\n

Collaborative efforts<\/h2>\n

UH<\/abbr> and Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> P–20 have been working with the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Department of Education for more than a decade, collaborating to strengthen alignment between high school and college so that more students make a successful transition to postsecondary education. Efforts have included reviewing and revising placement policies to allow students to be placed in college-level courses based on their achievements in high school, offering dual-credit courses that allow high school students to earn both high school and college credits while in high school, and a number of other programs and activities to boost student achievement and success in higher education.<\/p>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s CCRI reports<\/a> are continuously recognized by national organizations, including the Data Quality Campaign, Achieve, and the National Governors Association, as a leading example of collaboration between K–12 and higher education and for providing useful information on college readiness. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>‘s public school graduates enrolled in college at higher rates than students across the nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[781,969,962,306,71,947],"class_list":["post-137378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-academic-advising","tag-career-development","tag-enrollment","tag-hawaii-p-20","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-system","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t