**ALASKA NATIVE AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN-SERVING INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM**

**FISCAL YEAR 2008 GRANTEE ABSTRACTS**

## P031N080001 - Prince William Sound Community College 

**Project Abstract:** Prince William Sound Community College (PWSCC) is
a small, rural, public two-year institution located in the historic
community of Valdez, with extension sites in the remote areas of Copper
Basin/Glenn Allen and Cordova. The PWSCC service area is 44,000 square
miles (roughly the size of Ohio) in south-central Alaska, which includes
22 communities, five of which have no road access outside the summer
months. Extreme weather conditions -- e.g., up to 350 inches of snow and
temperatures reaching 50 degrees below zero -- make travel dangerous,
when not impossible. Known worldwide as the site of the 1989 Exxon
Valdez oil spill, the area suffers lasting economic and environmental
impacts. Founded in 1978, PWSCC is the only independently accredited
community college in Alaska (accredited by the Northwest Commission on
Colleges and Universities and affiliated with the University of Alaska
System). The college offers certificates leading to employment, the
Associates of Arts, four Associate of Applied Science degrees, and
access to additional Associate's degrees in conjunction with the
University of Alaska Anchorage.

Students and Faculty: Alaska Native/American Indian students at PWSCC
more than doubled in the last 14 years -- from 11 percent to 23 percent
in fall 2007. Among all students, 95 percent are nontraditional --
either by age, GED, or work and family responsibilities. Among incoming
students, 93 percent scored at the remedial level for math, and 70
percent for reading. The faculty at PWSCC includes a very stable core of
seven full and 49 part-time professors. Five of the full-time faculty
are tenured, and most have been with the college over 10 years.

+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| # Student Profile 2007                               |               |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Headcount                                            | 1,302         |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Alaska Native                                        | 23.2%         |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Male                                                 | 33.8%         |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Average Age                                          | 26            |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Part-Time                                            | 92%           |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Underprepared                                        | 93%           |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| # Faculty Profile 2007                               |               |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Full-time                                            | 7             |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Adjunct                                              | 49            |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Faculty to Student Ratio                             | 1:12          |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Master's/Higher Degree                               | 33%           |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Source: PWSCC Database                               |               |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+

Significant Problems: Transition to college for rural and Alaska Native
students requires relocation since so few Alaska communities have
college campuses. But relocation is not just a matter of adapting to a
new academic environment or a move to town; it is a dramatic, and often
traumatic push into a fast-paced, overpopulated, over-stimulating world
with which they have little or no experience. Prince William Sound
Community College is in a unique position to address their need because
we have existing student housing in a two-year college environment (one
of only two in the state). However, our aging facilities (built in the
mid-1960s) have reached "crisis maintenance management" condition in all
major mechanical systems, and institutional funds are insufficient to
address these critical structural deficiencies.

Proposed Solution: For the college to be able to continue to offer this
critical service, we must reduce the costs of "crisis maintenance
management" by addressing the infrastructure problems we currently face.
For that purpose, we request \$3,998,494 for Energy Efficient,
Cost-Effective Student Housing Improvements, including replacement of
sewers, electrical systems, weatherization, security, lighting, and
mechanical systems and installation of related energy efficiencies.
These improvements will reduce ongoing maintenance and energy costs,
allow us to increase occupancy rates overall as well as occupancy of
Alaska Native students, and therefore better support the critical need
for college housing for these students. A Comprehensive Evaluation Plan
will ensure the cost-effective accomplishment of project goals and
objectives.

**P031N080003 - Bristol Bay Campus**

**Project Abstract: Strengthening Our Institution Through Education and
Adaptation**

Level and Affiliation: The Bristol Bay Campus (BBC), Dillingham, Alaska,
an extended campus of the University of Alaska Alaska Fairbanks is a
nonresidential, four-year public institution that serves 32 Alaska
Native villages in a 40,000 square-mile region comparable to the size of
Ohio.

Student Characteristics:

  ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
  Fall 2007   Male Age    29 Years    Age 30      AK Native   Other

  684         38%         21%         79%         58%         42%
  Students                                                    
  ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

Faculty Characteristics: As of fall 2007, BBC has four full-time
professors appointed to the campus. Of these, three are full-time tenure
track: Professor of English, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, and
Associate Professor of Rural Development; one is term-funded: Assistant
Professor of Earth and Environmental Science; and the campus shares an
Assistant Professor of Chemistry with the main campus in Fairbanks. In
addition, BBC has 50 part-time or adjunct instructors. The average
faculty to student ratio during fall semester was 1:15 among full-time
faculty and 1:12 among adjunct faculty.

Programs of study: Degree programs offered by the campus include the
Associate of Arts degree, Community Health, Early Childhood Development,
Environmental Science, Renewable Resources, and other career and
technical education Certificates and Associate of Applied Science
degrees, and baccalaureate programs including the B.A. in Education,
Rural Development, and Social Work.

**Project Overview:**

**Activity 1 - Building Student Capacity.**

Component 1: Create a culturally-responsive Student Bridging Program
that aids students in

navigating through developmental courses and persisting into college
level classes for academic

success.

**Activity 2 - Strengthen Curriculum and Faculty & Staff Development.**

Component 1: Design culturally-appropriate curriculum applicable to real
life in rural Alaska.

Component 2: Provide faculty training and staff development to ensure
cultural understanding and adaptation to life in rural Alaska.

Component 3: Design academic offerings for faculty and staff in
culturally-appropriate

applications of technology, and for student training in access and use
of technology tools.

**Activity 3 - Developing and Adapting Academic Resources.**

Component 1: Develop an Alternative Energy/Adaptation Research and
Resource Laboratory connected to the University of Alaska Fairbanks
Bristol Bay Campus Environmental Science Program.

**P031N080004 - Interior Aleutians Campus, University of Alaska
Fairbanks**

Interior-Aleutians Campus (IAC)

College of Rural and Community Development

University of Alaska Fairbanks

"Ft. Yukon Center Renovation: Linking Energy Efficiency Improvements
with Construction Trades Technology Program Development."

## Project Abstract: The proposed project seeks to transform a significant energy efficiency and related operational cost "threat" at our Ft. Yukon Center (located in Ft. Yukon, Alaska) into a teaching and learning "opportunity" for Interior-Aleutian Campus' Construction Trades Technology (CTT) students through an energy efficiency improvement project.

Interior-Aleutians Campus recently learned that fuel costs alone for our
Ft. Yukon Center exceeded \$40,000 over a one-year period. With oil
prices at more than \$124 per barrel, it is clear that operational costs
for our lovely, but inefficient log building are going to continue to
rise. It is for this reason that IAC proposes to link energy efficiency
improvements with an appropriate teaching opportunity for CTT students.
This project will have two phases:

The first phase (Objective A) will involve weatherization to increase
insulation in roof and walls, plus more efficient windows and doors at
the Ft. Yukon Center. The second phase will involve the design and
installation of a renewable energy electrical project involving solar
energy. Through this overall project, students in Ft. Yukon will have an
opportunity to gain hands-on experience with a major efficiency
improvement project and a large photovoltaic design and installation
project.

Importantly, the state of Alaska is currently investing in
community-based energy efficiency improvements through a variety of
weatherization and renewable energy grant and loan programs for
individuals. This project will give local residents who are former or
current CTT certificate and Associate's students an opportunity to work
on the efficiency phase of the project. These individuals will be hired
by the contractor who will oversee their work. They will leave the
project will valuable experience in providing weatherization services
for other residents in the future.

The photovoltaic phase (Objective B) of the project will be conducted
under the guidance of IAC's electrician faculty member (who has a
Master's degree in Electrical Engineering). This faculty member will
design a four-credit class in Renewable Electrical Energy for a group of
CTT Associate of Applied Science students. Students will take the class
and learn about solar, wind, and hydro-renewable energy and then use
this project as a hands-on learning (practicum) project to design the
solar energy system and install it. University of Alaska Fairbanks'
Department of Design and Construction will be responsible for ensuring
that the finished project meets state standards for safety.

**P031N080005 - Interior Aleutians Campus, University of Alaska
Fairbanks, College of Rural and Community Development**

"Today is the Future: Innovation for Education in Rural Alaska"

Interior-Aleutians Campus (IAC)

College of Rural and Community Development

University of Alaska Fairbanks

## Project Abstract: This project looks to the future of college education in Alaska in order to prepare for and address incipient opportunities for our campus and our students. This project will have two phases. The first phase will address opportunities for the development of an Early College/Tech Prep program for students in the school districts served by IAC. The second phase will involve a long range, comprehensive planning process involving IAC faculty, staff, Rural Center coordinators, Advisory Council members, and other key community-based stakeholders.

Objective A: Early College (EC) (or dual credit) and technical
preparation ("tech prep") are important new innovations for high school
students wishing to earn college credit. In rural Alaska, unfortunately,
small schools cannot justify support of a large faculty all of whom are
"highly qualified" for all the subjects they are required to teach. For
this reason, combined with high turnover in rural schools, not all
students receive the quality of instruction that will allow them to pass
high school qualifying and exit exams. Once these students decide to try
to get in to college, IAC struggles, along with the student, to make up
for lost time and prepare them for the "core" English and Math
coursework required for a certificate, associates or higher level
degrees.

For the past 18 months IAC has participated in an Early College pilot
program with an Alaska Native- serving charter high school and one
school district. While challenging, we feel that there is great promise
in Early College and tech prep programs because, through IAC, students
will have access to the "highly qualified" instruction they need.
Moreover, students are motivated by the prestige and challenge of taking
college courses and they understand the advantages of reducing the cost
and time commitment of their college education. Finally, it is to IAC's
advantage to register better qualified students into our programs. For
all these reasons, IAC will embark on a project to formally develop
memoranda of agreement with as many of our 10 school districts as
possible to pursue EC and tech prep with their students. This project
will involve the development of tracking and information sharing
systems, student and parental support protocols and a great deal of
relationship building within the school districts.

Objective B: Thanks to Title III and other funding, IAC has experienced
an unprecedented period of growth over the past five years. In order to
address incipient opportunities, reorganize our campus, create a
long-range plan for programs and funding and to celebrate our past
successes, IAC envisions engagement in a comprehensive planning process
involving IAC faculty and staff, community members, and business and
agency stakeholders. This process would occur over a one-year timeline
with four meetings. The project will result in a five to 10 year plan
that will guide the development of a Title III application that is the
product of a comprehensive community planning process to ensure IAC's
responsiveness to opportunities and threats within our large service
region that will be addressed over the next several years.

**P031N060006 -- University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Campus**

**Project Abstract:** Renovation and Expansion Of Health Sciences
Educational Facilities

The Sitka Campus of the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) is a public
institution located in the rural portion of Southeast Alaska. The
college serves a two-year, community college role, providing education
and training opportunities to the residents of Sitka as well as students
scattered all over the state using a variety of cutting edge, Web-based,
distance education technologies. The Sitka Campus has been tasked with
primary responsibility for UAS' distance delivery of health sciences
education and pre-nursing

lab-based science classes. It is one of three campuses comprising the
University of Alaska Southeast which, in turn, is part of the University
of Alaska Statewide System of Higher Education.

Enrollment for spring 2008 reflected a headcount of 834 students, 76
percent of whom were women. The average student age was 29.6 years. Our
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian eligibility data shows 23 percent
Alaskan Native enrollment. There are 15 full-time faculty and 64 adjunct
faculty for a faculty to student ratio of 10:5.

**Activity One**

The major objective of this project is to design two high-tech,
multi-purpose classrooms, a lab-based science prep and storage space and
renovate the World War II-era hangar space that houses the UAS Sitka
Campus by September 30, 2010 to the proposed design, according to the
terms of this Title III program opportunity.

State Department of Labor Statistics consistently show significant,
unmet needs in healthcare-related occupations in Alaska. It is the
largest industry in the state\--more than one in every 12 jobs in Alaska
are in the health care industry. Employment in the field has grown more
than three times as fast as all other industries since 2000---40 percent
as compared to 13 percent for all other industries which is five times
as fast as the state's population.

Vacancies in the field are legendary and can be as high as 20 percent in
some rural areas. This project will provide two large "smart" classroom
spaces, versatile and multi-purpose in nature, to help the Sitka Campus
keep up with the dynamics of rapid growth and constantly changing
curricular demands. It will also provide desperately needed support
space for lab-based science classes (anatomy and physiology,
microbiology, chemistry) that are included in the statewide delivered
pre-nursing program, room for supply storage and assembly, as well as
final evaluation of the dozens of innovative lab project kits that are
sent out to approximately 150 students per semester.

**P031N080007 -- The Kuskokwim Campus**

**Project Abstract:** The Kuskokwim Campus (KuC) in Bethel, Alaska, is
the largest rural, semi-independent extended campus in the University of
Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) system. The Kuskokwim Campus is a branch campus
of UAF's College of Rural and Community Development. A residential,
public institution with a Federal Minority designation, the campus
serves 46 remote Alaska Native villages and 56 tribes in a 57,827
square-mile, roadless area the size of the state of Illinois.

**Activity:** Physical Plant Renovations to update Information
Technology (IT) network wiring infrastructure; complete classroom
renovation with new drop ceilings and energy-efficient lighting; install
ceiling mounted LCD projectors and screens in classrooms to support
technology assisted instruction.

The five-year plan for Serving Alaska Native Students (2004) is a
long-term, regional effort to increase recruitment, retention and
matriculation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
students (STEM) in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. This renovation project
will assist that effort by completing the renovation of the classrooms
begun under a previous Title III grant. The renovation will create a
physical climate of excellence and support instruction through updated
IT wiring and the installation of LCD projectors and screens in the
classrooms.

Part of the KuC's five-year plan states that "improvements at the
Kuskokwim campus must keep pace with the campus planned expansion
of...program academics." The Title III renovation grant will enable the
campus to "keep pace" by providing a campus environment, which
contributes to academic success.

A renovation project sponsored by the University of Alaska will install
a new roof and new siding on campus buildings in summer 2008. The new
roof and insulation will eliminate the problem of serious leaks and make
possible the final steps in classroom renovations, including:

-   Installation of drop ceilings in the classrooms;

-   Replacement of damaged and inefficient lights with recessed energy
    efficient fixtures;

-   Installation of ceiling mounted LCD projectors and screens in the
    classrooms;

-   Replacement of IT wiring infrastructure throughout campus buildings;
    and

-   Upgrading of electrical outlets in classrooms.

P031W080001 - Chaminade University of Honolulu

Chaminade University of Honolulu located in Hawaii is a four-year
private institution affiliated with the Catholic Church serving Hawaii
and other Pacific Island populations. It offers professional and
academic degrees at the undergraduate and masters level. Our entire
student body consists of approximately 2600 students and our faculty
consists of 74 full-time and 153 part-time or adjuncts, which result in
an average class size of 14. The table below is a breakdown of our
student body characteristics:

  ----------------- ----------- ---------- ---------- ----------- ------- ---------- ---- --------- ---------
  **DEMOGRAPHIC                                                                                     
  CHARACTERISTICS                                                                                   
  OF THE STUDENT                                                                                    
  BODY**                                                                                            

  **Race (%)**                                                            **Gender        **Age**   **Class
                                                                          (%)**                     Size**

  Asian/Pacific     Caucasian   Hispanic   African-   American    Other   F          M              
  Island                                   American   Indian/                                       
                                                      Alaska                                        
                                                      Native                                        

  50                29          8          6          0.8         5.4     59         41   28        14
  ----------------- ----------- ---------- ---------- ----------- ------- ---------- ---- --------- ---------

In the years since 2000 Chaminade has increasingly distinguished itself
for its success in supporting the success of students of Native
Hawaiian, Pacific Island and other underrepresented students in the
sciences with an emphasis on those preparing for careers in biomedical,
biochemical and forensic sciences. This spring, for the third
consecutive year, a science student from Chaminade was selected as the
State of Hawaii's representative to "Posters on the Hill" in Washington,
D.C., sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research. Each is of
Hawaiian descent. Native Hawaiian students comprised approximately 14
percent of our incoming fall 2007 class of 255. Of those students, 30
percent indicated intent to major in one of the sciences.

As is typically the case in a smaller, undergraduate-focused Title III
designated university, Chaminade's ability to fully serve its students
is constrained by limited resources -- a condition especially the case
in such an infrastructure intensive area as the sciences. From 2003 to
the present, we have invested over eight million to renew our teaching
laboratories and for the first time have a modest amount (approximately
500 square feet) of appropriately furnished student and faculty research
space. This request of Title III, College Cost Reduction and Access
Act/Alaska Native-Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving (CCRAA/ANNH)
funding seeks to build on the work to date through the renovation of:
(1) a laboratory to be used for physics and forensic sciences; (2)
student and faculty research and support space; (3) securing the
sophisticated equipment needed to teach Trace Evidence techniques in our
undergraduate and graduate Forensic Science courses, and to provide
undergraduates in the biomedical and biochemical fields with experience
using advanced analytical instrumentation that are common features of
research laboratories, in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical
industries, and diagnostic laboratory settings; and (4) increase the
speed, bandwidth security and reliability of our campus data network and
storage -- capacities so essential to instruction and research in the
sciences and throughout the campus. These investments in infrastructure
will support not only existing science students and degree offerings but
also all undergraduates, since every student is required to take two
science courses and the associated laboratories, and be an important
part of the preparatory resources needed for the initiation of a
baccalaureate degree in nursing projected for fall 2010.

All investments to be made are consistent with the directions set in the
university's newly-revised Strategic Plan 2008-2013: *Live Fully Our
Transformation*. All renovations are as proposed in our campus master
plan for facilities. In particular, it is grounded in our commitment to
increase our service to students of Native Hawaiian descent.

P031W080002 - Chaminade University of Honolulu

Chaminade University is a Catholic, comprehensive, master's level
university serving the people of Hawaii and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific
Island states since 1955.

Located on the Island of Oahu, Chaminade enrolls approximately 2,600
degree-seeking students in twenty-three undergraduate and seven graduate
programs. Regionally accredited since 1960, Chaminade fulfills a
commitment to underrepresented student populations through twelve
off-campus locations and a growing distance education program focusing
on military service-members, their families, and their surrounding
communities. Seventy-four full-time faculty and approximately 153
part-time/adjunct faculty each semester enable Chaminade to offer degree
programs in business, behavioral science, education, natural science and
math, and humanities and fine arts with a moderate student to faculty
ratio of 14:1.

<table>
<colgroup>
<col style="width: 12%" />
<col style="width: 10%" />
<col style="width: 8%" />
<col style="width: 10%" />
<col style="width: 7%" />
<col style="width: 7%" />
<col style="width: 7%" />
<col style="width: 7%" />
<col style="width: 7%" />
<col style="width: 7%" />
<col style="width: 7%" />
<col style="width: 7%" />
</colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<td colspan="12"><p><strong>ABSTRACT TABLE</strong></p>
<p><strong>CHAMINADE OVERVIEW - FALL 2007 (N=2,637)</strong></p></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td colspan="4">Race</td>
<td colspan="2">Level</td>
<td colspan="2">Gender</td>
<td colspan="2">Attendance</td>
<td rowspan="2"><p>Avg.</p>
<p>Age</p></td>
<td rowspan="2"><p>Class</p>
<p>Size</p></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Asian/Pacific Islander</td>
<td>Caucasian</td>
<td>Hispanic</td>
<td><p>African-</p>
<p>American</p></td>
<td>Under-grad.</td>
<td>Grad.</td>
<td>F</td>
<td>M</td>
<td><p>Full-</p>
<p>Time</p></td>
<td><p>Part-</p>
<p>Time</p></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>50%</td>
<td>29%</td>
<td>8%</td>
<td>6%</td>
<td>75%</td>
<td>25%</td>
<td>59%</td>
<td>41%</td>
<td>67%</td>
<td>33%</td>
<td>28</td>
<td>14</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

As a tuition-driven private institution, Chaminade must seek to develop
and support high-quality academic programs that are in demand by
college-oriented, career-oriented students. As a Hawaiian- serving
institution, we also are mindful of our commitment to assist the
students of the Pacific Islands in their quest for higher education, and
to be a partner in addressing the challenges faced by our community.
With the help of Title III, Chaminade University will initiate a
much-needed Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program that will meet
all of the criteria outlined in the sentences above.

Building upon our nationally recognized forensic science program,
Chaminade will develop a program that enrolls,at its full capacity, 158
nursing degree candidates. The program will be built upon the
forward-thinking Oregon Nursing Model, which focuses on competency,
genomic-genetic medicine, and advanced simulation techniques to provide
the broadest possible range of experiences to students. The program
itself will increase enrollment by 6 percent. The high-quality
curriculum structure and the academic support included in the program
will help insure a high percentage of student persistence to graduation.
The program also will open a new direction for academic growth (and
therefore, fiscal stability) for the university, and it will extend
Chaminade's reputation as a valued community partner in Hawaii and the
U.S. Pacific Island states.

P031W080003 - University of Hawaii

**Primary Service Population:** Any high school graduate or person 18
years of age or older. The majority of the students attending Hawaii
Community College come from Hilo and Puna on the east side and from
Kailua-Kona on the west side of the island.

**Programs of Study:** Accounting, Administration of Justice,
Agriculture, Auto Body Repair and Painting, Automotive Mechanics
Technology, Carpentry, Diesel Mechanics, Drafting and Engineering Aide,
Early Childhood Education, Electrical Instillation and Maintenance
Technology, Electronics Technology, Food Service, Hawai\'i Life Styles,
Hotel Operations, Human Services, Information Technology, Liberal Arts,
Nursing, Office Administration and Technology, Marketing, Welding and
Sheet Metal, and Tropical Forest Ecosystem and Agroforestry Management.

**Student Body Characteristics:**

  ------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
  **Race and Ethnicity**                      **Total Number Enrolled**

  Nonresident Alien                           43

  Black, Non-Hispanic                         16

  American Indian or Alaskan Native           20

  Asian or Pacific Islander                   1,405

  Hispanic                                    46

  White, Non-Hispanic                         486

  Race/Ethnicity Unknown                      83

  **Grand Total**                             **2,099**
  ------------------------------------------- ---------------------------

**Faculty Characteristics:**

Number of Full-Time Faculty: 66

Number of Adjunct Faculty: 98

Faculty to Student Ratio: 1:12.80

  ------------------------------ ------------------ ----------------------
  **Age/Gender**                 **Male**           **Female**

  Under 18                       87                 98

  18-19                          264                329

  20-21                          171                228

  22-24                          81                 200

  25-29                          102                186

  30-34                          45                 123

  35-39                          31                 97

  40-49                          48                 176

  50-64                          34                 84

  65 and over                    4                  7

  Age Unknown                    0                  1

  **Grand Total**                **867**            **1,529**
  ------------------------------ ------------------ ----------------------

#  P031W080006 - University of Hawaii at Hilo

The University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo) is located on the island of
Hawaii, the southernmost and the largest island in the Hawaiian
archipelago. Organized in 1970, it is the only public four-year, Native
Hawaiian-Serving Institution on the island and is part of the University
of Hawaii's ten-campus statewide system of higher education. It
primarily serves residents of the island and students from around the
state of Hawaii, the United States mainland, and from many other
nations, especially from the Pacific Islands and Asia. Enrollment in
fall 2007 consisted of 3,573 students with 55 percent being low-income,
first-generation college students, and/or students with disabilities.
Native Hawaiian students comprised 21.6 percent of the total student
population and Pacific Islanders comprised 5 percent. The campus'
operating budget for fiscal year 2008 is \$28.9 million.

## Activity 1 - (\$1,994,557 for two years). *Establish a Center for Pacific Islander Education and Retention*

To renovate existing UH Hilo facilities to establish a Center for
Pacific Islander Education and Retention. The center will serve as a
curricular and co-curricular meeting space to promote and facilitate the
education and retention of Pacific Islander students at UH Hilo. The
center will be utilized for peer mentoring, tutoring and learning
communities; for faculty and staff multicultural training, workshops,
colloquia, and research; for community cultural experts to teach
students and train faculty and staff on cultural traditions and
knowledge; and for a library of relevant educational, leadership and
cultural materials and resources.

Key measures include an increase in Pacific Islander student success and
retention; faculty and staff incorporation of multicultural perspectives
in curricula, pedagogy, and support services; an increase in the level
of engagement of students in their college educational experience; an
increase in educational and leadership resource materials available to
faculty, staff and students; and an increase in collaboration with
community and cultural resources.

## Project Management and Evaluation

The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs will be the Project Director.
Her role and responsibilities for the project will be part of her
current UH Hilo administrative duties. She will be responsible for the
overall management and evaluations activities of the grant. A 50 percent
FTE Project Manager will be hired to assist the Project Director in the
plan, design, and renovation phases of the project.

# P031W080004 - University of Hawaii at Hilo

**Project Abstract:** "Renovations for Student Success in Developmental,
Digital Media/STEM, and Business Education," Kapiolani Community
College, Honolulu, Hawaii

**Purpose**: To complete three renovations in the Kahikoluamea Center,
Digital Media/STEM Center and Business Learning Center for improved
student support, high context learning, retention, continuation, and
degree completion by Native Hawaiian and all students.

Kapiolani Community College (the College) is a two-year, public
institution providing high quality liberal arts and 21^st^ Century
career programs, serving diverse Native Hawaiian and multi-ethnic
students and communities. The total enrollment for fall 2007 was 7,463,
of which 916 were Native Hawaiians. Data for fall 2006 show 20 percent
of students were 18-20 years of age, 40 percent aged 20-24, and 33.3
percent aged 25-59, with a median age of 24.8 years. The College enrolls
a majority of female students (57.6 percent). The College is nationally
recognized for creating a new ecology of learning that integrates
classrooms, labs and centers, campus, community, and cyberspace. This
learning ecology opens many avenues to faculty innovation in meeting the
diverse learning styles of our students. The College demonstrates
substantial academic strength: a commitment to inclusive excellence and
research-based best practices; enrollment stability and transfer
success; strengthening Hawaiian studies and improved outcomes for Native
Hawaiian students; faculty-driven improvements in learning outcomes
assessment; an impressive Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
(STEM) program; responsive career programs; renovation of Holomua, an
integrated approach to developmental education; and the proposed
consolidation of Holomua, First-Year Experience and Malama Hawaii into
the Kahikoluamea program. Academic weaknesses include the high
percentage of students scoring into college-readiness levels as well as
lower-than-national success rates in developmental courses for Native
Hawaiian and all students, which contribute to low retention and
continuation into second-year courses, including the STEM and Business
Education programs. In addition, 20-35 year old classrooms, labs and
learning centers are not conducive to the new ecology of learning
strategies, techniques and technology. The College's fiscal strength
lies in diversified revenue streams and its weakness lies in attrition
rates resulting in significant losses in tuition revenue.

To address our academic and fiscal weaknesses, the College is proposing
comprehensive renovations modeled on the College's very successful STEM
Center, will incorporate Hawaiian cultural design concepts and result in
improved student support services, increased student effort in the
active, collaborative, technology-integrated learning of academically
challenging Developmental and Business Education curricula, increased
peer mentoring and faculty-student interaction, and comprehensive
e-Portfolio-based learning outcomes assessment. The renovation of the
Digital Media/STEM Center will support the integration of digital media
applications into STEM and other degree programs. These renovations,
with campus-funded personnel support, will facilitate the College's
efforts to improve pedagogy and student support as measured by higher
financial aid participation and course success, retention, continuation,
and completion rates for Native Hawaiian and all students in
developmental courses, as well as in STEM, Business and other degree
programs.

# P031W080005 - University of Hawaii 

The University of Hawai\`i - West O\`ahu (UHWO) is undergoing a period
of rapid growth and change. As a formerly upper-division campus (juniors
and seniors only), it just admitted its first freshman class in fall
2007 and is poised to build a new campus that will open its doors in
2010. The curriculum is also changing. All of this is happening in the
context of meeting state needs for a more highly-educated workforce and
serving populations who have historically had little or no access to
higher education.

University of Hawai\`i - West O\`ahu has identified two specific
problems it intends to address in this proposal:

1.  Many students who enroll at UHWO have not internalized expectations
    for college going; as a result they may be academically unprepared
    and/or believe they are not "smart enough" or "good enough" to
    belong or succeed in college.

2.  Now that it is a four-year institution, UHWO must fill gaps in its
    core curriculum, particularly in science, technology, engineering,
    and math (STEM) disciplines. Student participation in and completion
    of STEM courses have been poor in this first year and must be
    increased; new STEM courses and degree programs are needed; and
    faculty competence in using technology in all disciplines needs to
    be increased.

Both of these problems can contribute to poor student performance as
shown by low grades, high drop out rates, and poor overall retention and
graduation rates. In order to address these concerns, UHWO will develop
a highly interactive and interpersonal (high touch) learning environment
that will maximize use of scientific instrumentation and technological
innovation (high tech). This approach will bring needed services and
programs to the students rather than requiring them to go to where the
services are. It will also require obtaining portable equipment that can
be moved easily from place to place, which will in turn alleviate space
shortages. Finally, students should be able to graduate in a reasonable
time frame with technological competence in a variety of high demand
fields ranging from education to environmental science.

[Activity 1: High Touch]{.underline} - This activity, which will
culminate in the development of a comprehensive First-Year Experience
program at UHWO, will have two components that have been shown to
contribute to college engagement and success:

A.  Psychosocial Development: Delivering integrated interventions
    (programs and services) designed to increase first-year students'
    sense of belonging and self-efficacy at UHWO; and

B.  Academic Skill Building: Delivering tutorial and other learning
    services to help students overcome academic deficiencies, both
    actual and perceived.

[Activity 2: High Tech]{.underline} - This activity will focus on
demystifying scientific and other high tech equipment used largely in
STEM-related courses but also across the curriculum. Components of this
activity include:

A.  Encouraging students' interest, enrollment, and completion of STEM
    classes;

B.  Developing new classes in STEM fields and other related disciplines;

C.  Promoting faculty development to use technology more extensively in
    teaching; and

D.  Developing new academic programs in STEM related fields.

> 12/11/2008