{"id":226248,"date":"2025-12-01T20:16:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T06:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=226248"},"modified":"2025-12-02T08:11:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T18:11:28","slug":"uh-targets-workforce-gaps-with-online-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/12\/01\/uh-targets-workforce-gaps-with-online-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> System targets workforce gaps with online solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"person<\/p>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> System is working to expand its online program offerings following the findings by two major strategic reviews: a comprehensive study by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and program portfolio and opportunity mapping analyses by UPCEA<\/abbr>. A phased expansion is intended to add to, not replace, existing in-person instruction as needed.<\/p>\n

\"student<\/p>\n

The urgency of this transition is underscored by declining numbers of high school graduates and online student out-migration. Approximately 11,000 Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> residents enroll in online programs offered by out-of-state providers every year, a number equivalent to a midsize university. The goal is to retain these students, grow enrollment across UH<\/abbr> campuses, and increase access for adult and part-time learners for whom traditional in-person degrees are not possible or desirable for a variety of reasons.<\/p>\n

UH<\/abbr> President Wendy Hensel said, “We are dedicated to making our programs relevant and accessible to every student in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. These comprehensive analyses provide a data-driven strategy to align the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> System with the state’s critical workforce needs, offering flexible formats that work for everyone and speeding up the launch time for new offerings.”<\/p>\n

Building pathways, stackable credentials<\/h2>\n

Kim Siegenthaler, senior advisor to Hensel, presented the findings to about 50 members of the Workforce Learning Community on November 21. High-demand fields include business\/management, healthcare, education, STEM and social work\/public sector.<\/p>\n

UH<\/abbr> is working to build strong online pathways and design stackable credentials that enable students to progress from credential to credential within major. UPCEA<\/abbr> recommendations included adding online options to more than 100 existing in-person programs and introducing more than 30 new non-credit and for-credit offerings.<\/p>\n

Conversations across the 10 UH<\/abbr> campuses are being held to determine which of the recommended programs will be developed. The first wave of high-priority online programs is expected to launch in fall 2026 and spring 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UH<\/abbr> aims to meet critical workforce needs by increasing online offerings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":131211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[1224,61,62,63,64,65,1655,71,14,9,60,947,59,66,603],"class_list":["post-226248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-distance-education","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-honolulu-community-college","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-kauai-community-college","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-online-educational-resource","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","tag-maui-college","tag-uh-system","tag-uh-west-oahu","tag-windward-community-college","tag-workforce-development","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\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t