# Project Abstracts

**PR Award #:** P031N200005

**Institution Name:** Alaska Christian College

**Project Title:** Increasing Alaska Native Students' Academic Engagement, Persistence, and Success

*Alaska Christian College (ACC),*a private, two-year, residential institution, was founded in 2000 intent on providing a safe place for Alaska Native youth to begin a college experience. Since opening our doors in 2001 enrollment in this small institution has increased five-fold, serving students, primarily from the remote western Alaska “Bush” – a region plagued by exorbitant costs of living, extremely limited employment opportunities, cycles of domestic violence, alcohol/drug abuse, and suicide. Hence our rosters are filled with socio-economically and educationally disadvantaged minority students, who enter ACC with considerable academic and financial worries.

ACC’s Fall 2019 enrollment (104), was comprised of **90% Alaska Native**, 92% first generation in college students, and 99% low-income and eligible for federal Pell Grants (98% with an EFC of “zero” FAFSA). Despite our small size and the extreme challenges facing our students we remain committed to our mission of service to Alaska Natives, the vast majority of whom enter our institution burdened with severe academic and socio-economic challenges. Most (84%) of our students come from rural and isolated Native villages, communities with the highest rates of family violence, suicide, and alcohol abuse in the United States – domestic violence is 10 time the national average, physical assault of women 12 times, suicide almost four time the national average, and rape three times the national average.

Consistently, 90% of our students test below college-level in math and English skills upon first enrollment. Passing rates in developmental courses are low (as few as 20% in fall 2019), and often equally low in college-level courses. Our students often struggle with basic personal care functions, often experiencing poor nutrition, sleep habits, fitness, and copying skills. Not surprisingly, academic persistence rates are low (average of 50% of first-time enrolled) and cohort graduation within three years of first enrollment is often less than 20%.

Our students’ needs are many, but we remain committed to them and to fostering their success. With this Title III ANNHSI application, we propose a project titled **Increasing Alaska Native Students’ Academic Engagement, Persistence, and Success**to address identified institutional problems, strengthen our capacity to serve current and future students, resulting in 1) more effective developmental and general education following course redesign for the infusion of active learning, best practices in instruction for ESL and behaviorally-challenged students; 2) more effective faculty following participation in professional development; 3) improved and expanded academic support services via creation of a Student Engagement Center (SEC) equipped with active learning resources, collaboration stations and expanded space for one-on-one and group tutoring, 4) improved and expanded student support services to facilitate effective academic advising and tutoring, as well as nutritional/physical/mental health wellness resources; 5) improved student financial literacy via access to online financial wellness modules; and 6) improved efficiency, reliability, and access to instructional and support services via an upgraded wireless network and improved internet connectivity.

Our proposed Title III ANNHSI project addresses the 2020 *Competitive Preference Priority: **Fostering knowledge & promoting development of skills that prepare students to be informed, thoughtful, and productive individuals and citizens:**Support Instruction in personal financial literacy, knowledge of markets & economics, knowledge of higher education financing & repayment, or other skills aimed at building personal financial understanding/responsibility.* We request funding totaling $2,249,881 for this five-year comprehensive Title III project.

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**PR Award #:** P031N200003

**Institution Name:** University of Alaska Southeast - Sitka Campus

**Project Title:** Project SUPPORT: Strengthening Unique Potential for Progress through Opportunities, Relationships, and Transitions

The purpose of this project is to improve the existing network of support for UAS Sitka

students—particularly nontraditional, first-generation, and/or underprepared students—following

the campus’s statement of purpose, which involves empowering individuals for academic, career,

and personal achievement through attentive engagement by staff and faculty, and by strengthening students’ critical and cultural perspectives for the future. Specifically, this project is comprised of two interrelated goals:

**Goal One: Strengthen the way UAS Sitka builds and manages meaningful relationships**

**between staff/faculty and students, especially nontraditional, first-generation, and**

**underprepared students.**Grant funds will allow the campus to hire two full-time project

support staff positions whose primary purpose will be to initiate and maintain individualized

relationships with students, particularly nontraditional, first-generation and/or underprepared

students. The roles of project support staff include but are not limited to assisting students in

navigating their coursework and course loads, tutoring, facilitating outward relationships with

community and industry partners, and promoting students’ financial literacy and sustainability. These lasting and highly personalized relationships between project staff and students will also serve as a point of meaningful inclusiveness, which can otherwise be challenging to maintain across the UAS Sitka campus where courses are delivered primarily via distance. In addition to working with students, the project support staff will also maintain close relationships with staff and faculty across the campus in order to foster an eventual shift in campus culture toward increased student connection via attentive engagement.

**Goal Two: Strengthen the way UAS Sitka promotes skills, habits, and mindsets relevant to**

**the 21st century in order to help students achieve greater academic, career, and personal**

**success.**Grant funds will also allow the campus to hire a full-time term project faculty position

whose primary purpose will be to promote students’ development of specific skills, habits, and mindsets related to self-awareness, responsiveness and resourcefulness, all with a focus on preparedness for the future. Project faculty will facilitate students’ college and career success using pedagogical approaches particularly relevant to nontraditional, first-generation and/or underprepared students. Project faculty will generate new curricula designed specifically to broaden and reinforce students’ Critical and Cultural Perspectives for the 21st Century (CCP21). Some new course material will encourage students to reflect on their college experience through

a meta-learning lens, while other new course material will provide students with valuable skills

to help them find success in future academic settings, in the workforce, and in their personal

lives. In addition to developing new curricula, project faculty will also build and oversee a

development program for campus faculty to assist UAS Sitka faculty in adopting creative and

meaningful ways of incorporating the same degree of CCP21 thinking into existing courses.

**PR Award #:** P031N200001

**Institution Name:** University of Alaska Fairbanks - Interior Alaska Campus

**Project Title:** Pathways Forward

The Interior Alaska Campus (IAC) is submitting a five-year Individual Development Grant application. IAC is a designated Alaska Native Serving Institution (ANSI) and eligible for Title III grant funds.

The goal for the *Pathways Forward*project is to *Increase postsecondary success*through four objectives: 1) Increase student success in English; 2) Increase access to academic programs; 3) Increase access and scope of student services: and 4) Maintain institutional stability.

This grant will provide academic instruction and student services that extend the reach of

higher education to underserved rural Alaska and Alaska Native peoples.

The project facilitates the *Goal: Increase postsecondary success*by incorporating new teaching methods and tools into core English and developmental English course, providing individual tutoring support for English courses, providing an enhanced array of student services and providing place-based student services and classes in rural Alaska. It strengthens the institution as a whole by supporting the professional development of staff and faculty and the development of a five-year strategic plan.

This project addresses the Competitive Preference Priority by increasing financial literacy

knowledge and skills through student services. Student service staff will provide information and

counseling for students on personal finance including the benefits and obligations of student loans and other educational funding sources.

This grant will provide training and conference opportunities for project staff members and IAC faculty. This training and networking will keep student service and project management staff current with best practices and emerging issues in higher education. It likewise keeps faculty current in their fields and aware of new teaching methods and tools.

Progress and success on the objectives will be measured by:

*Increase student success in English*: Measures: 80% pass-rate for 6 project English courses per year, a score of 4 of 5 for student engagement, and 200 individual tutoring sessions per year;

Methods: the incorporation of indigenous literature, grammar games, and motivation techniques into courses, and individual tutoring.

*Increase access to academic programs*: Measures: 9 classes, average 10 students each;

Methods: classes held in rural communities, and use of Zoom technology for distance delivery.

*Increase access and scope of student services*: Measures: provide student services in rural communities 12 times per year, advising, etc. 100 times per year, and 25 students receive enhanced services; Method: provide a broad array of student services including financial literacy in rural communities, and provide targeted enhanced services for low-performing and failing students.

*Maintain institutional stability*: Measure: a new five-year campus strategic plan, and 11

professional development opportunities total; Method: hold planning session with IAC Advisory

Council members, faculty and staff and other stakeholders, and faculty and staff engage in development opportunities.

IAC will hire an external evaluator to assess progress on grant activities and objectives. The external evaluator will provide an independent assessment annually.

**PR Award #:** P031N200002

**Institution Name:** University of Alaska Fairbanks, Chukchi Campus

**Project Title:** Building a Strong Foundation

The Chukchi Campus is submitting a new application for a Title III Part A Alaska Native

Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Program (84.031N), Individual Development Grant for the Building a Strong Foundation Project. Chukchi Campus is an Alaska Native-Serving Institution (ANSI) and an independent branch campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

This ANNH grant project, led by PI and Campus Director, Stacey Glaser, Building a Strong

Foundation will enable Chukchi Campus to improve and expand capacity to serve the higher education and workforce development needs of Alaska Native people in the region. Planning, development and implementation activities described in the Project will strengthen Chukchi Campus’s education capacity, student enrollment and retention by providing much needed completion support for students as well as increasing certificate and degree program development.

Comprehensive analysis of strengths and weaknesses regarding academic programs,

institutional management and fiscal stability led to the following three Project goals: 1. Improve Academic Programs by increasing student course completion, success, and persistence rates, 2. Improve Institutional Management by hiring and training additional staff, 3. Improve Fiscal Stability by increasing tuition income. Institutionalization of personnel proposed by this project is an important feature of this Project plan. Two staff positions are added to directly improve student support services and increase the number of academic programs and classes. Two key positions, Student Completion Coordinator and Program Development Coordinator/Title III Grant Manager are directly tasked with targeted activities that will stabilize Chukchi Campus while growing the student body and programs offered.

**PR Award #:** P031W200006

**Institution Name:** University of Hawaii Maui College

**Project Title:** Kupuohi i ka La: Increasing Capacity for Continual Growth

Kupuohi i ka Lā: Increasing Capacity for Continual Growth is a Title III, Part A, Cooperative Arrangement proposal between two University of Hawai‘i System (UH) institutions—UH Maui College (UHMC—lead) and Hawai‘i Community College (HawCC). The title, kupuohi i ka lā, means to rapidly sprout or flourish caused by the power of the sun. The image draws from the story of the Native Hawaiian (NH) mythical figure of Māui, who slowed the sun to increase the length of days and growing season. This story, known as the Ka‘ao Model at UHMC and HawCC, is used as a successful effort to indigenize the first-year experience following the hero’s journey as a discussion of students’ college journey. Moreover, the purpose of Kupuohi i ka Lā is to make shifts in institutional infrastructure (similar to Māui’s slowing of the sun) to promote the growth and flourishing of extramural projects, research, and ultimately student success (retention, graduation, and transfer). These efforts target three related *activities*:

1) Solar Panel Installation & Training: A solar panel array will be installed at UHMC Moloka‘i Education Center to reduce utility costs and provide related career training to students;

2) Sustain and Expand the Shared Service Center (SSC): a) UHMC has demonstrated the effectiveness of the SSC to increase extramural awards and will become self-sustaining; b) HawCC will establish an SSC; and c) both campuses will provide grant development training;

3) Financial Literacy Training: Provide certification training to staff at each campus, who will be required to provide two financial literacy workshops to students.

Kupuohi i ka Lā proposes three goals: 1) Foster institutional sustainability to allocate increased resources to student success efforts (Institutional Sustainability); 2) Increase institutional capacity to sustain and expand extramural funding, research, and projects to promote student success (Institutional Capacity); and 3) Build institutional capacity to deliver financial literacy education to promote enrollment, graduation, and transfer (Financial Literacy). Over 5 years, UHMC will save $193,500 in electricity costs at the Moloka‘i Education Center to redirect into serving students (and $48,375 annually thereafter), 5 students on the island of Moloka‘i will be trained as Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installers, the UHMC SSC will become 100% financially self-sustained, an SSC will be established at HawCC, 30 faculty and staff will be trained in grant development, UHMC will increase extramural awards by $2.5 million, and HawCC will increase awards by $500,000.

These self-sustaining practices will provide a base for generation of extramural awards—innovative educational and research projects to improve student success.

Since 2011, both cooperative partner institutions have seen drastic declines in enrollment that mirror the nationwide trend— -34% at UHMC and -33% at HawCC. Despite these declines, the percentage of NH students has increased to 32% at UHMC and 43% at HawCC, which is greater than Hawaii’s general population of 23%. Both campuses are seeing gains in retention and NH student success after recently implementing evidence-based student success strategies. Yet, these gains are at risk due to the current budget climate after almost 10 years of enrollment decline. Kupuohi i ka Lā proposes a sustainable approach to increase the fiscal stability of the institutions to maintain recent gains as well as the fiscal stability of the students to encourage graduation.

Kupuohi i ka Lā addresses the Competitive Preference Priority: Fostering Knowledge and Promoting the Development of Skills that Prepare Students to be Informed, Thoughtful, and Productive Individuals and Citizens through providing NH culture-based financial literacy curriculum to 4,000 students to build personal financial understanding and responsibility.

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**PR Award #:** P031W200001

**Institution Name:** University of Hawai'i

**Project Title:** Kuloaa - Advancing Indigenous Innovators

Kapiolani Community College (the “College”) is developing a framework and support

system to improve the educational pipeline from the College to University of Hawaii (UH)

baccalaureate institutions and to indigenize online learning through “**Kuloaa**: **Advancing**

**Indigenous Innovators.**This project embodies the spirit of the College value of *kuloaa,*

ensuring that the needs of our students are met with support and service*,*rooted in *ku*(to stand, to

rise; to achieve; to prepare) and *loaa*(to succeed, harvest, obtain, gain). This project will directly

benefit the growing population of Native Hawaiian (NH) students from Hawaiian language

immersion schools and other public high schools. **To this end, Kuloaa will directly address**

**ANNH program guidelines through two project activities: (1) Strengthen engagement, reenrollment, academic achievement and student support across multiple pedagogical**

**strategies and (2) Increase Native Hawaiian Students’ Access to Financial Support.**

The first project activity will address beneficial institutional strategic planning goals and

performance measures through two project objectives: **1) Improve re-enrollment and**

**transfer/graduation rates through experiential learning focused on indigenous innovation.**

The project will develop and implement first- and second-year pre-transfer curricular pathways

with course selected to engage students and feed into baccalaureate degrees focused on

economics and entrepreneurship, integrate co-curricular activities by cultural practitioners and

indigenous business and industry professionals, undergraduate research experiences to synthesize

the curricular and co-curricular learning, a summer bridge program between the first and second

years to student engagement at a critical momentum point, and feed into a second summer bridge

program offered in an existing Title III ANNH Part A collaborative grant focused on transfer to

UH Manoa. Student support activities will focus on financial literacy, FAFSA completion, and

career readiness in collaboration with the College’s Employment Prep Center; and **2) Improve re-enrollment and transfer/graduation rates through culturally responsive online learning.**Given the over-representation of NH students in online classes and the growing****number of students taking at least one online class, the project will provide professional****development to assist faculty in designing culturally responsive online learning. The second****project activity seeks to increase Native Hawaiian students’ access to financial support through a****single objective: **increasing the College’s resource development capacity through fiscal stability**. Monthly and annual reports of expenditures, projections, and balances will lead to****improved fiscal reporting and improved monitoring of spending to ensure compliance with grant****objectives and all applicable policies and regulations. Reports of gaps in fiscal support services****to meet the needs of NH programs receiving extramural funding will inform a plan to improve****fiscal stability and grant management capacity to allow for additional extramural funding for****programs to expand programs for Native Hawaiian student success.

This project addresses the Competitive Preference Priority**,**“address supporting

instruction in personal financial literacy, knowledge of markets and economics, knowledge of

higher education financing and repayment (e.g., college savings and student loans), or other

skills aimed at building personal financial understanding and responsibility.” This project will

improve student support services through peer, academic, career, and financial literacy advising and through increased knowledge of economics through course taking and business plan competition. Ultimately, the College seeks to close and eliminate achievement gaps and better prepare Native Hawaiian students for productive persistence to transfer and career opportunities.

**PR Award #:** P031W200005

**Institution Name:** University of Hawaii Maui College

**Project Title:** Kahua Hana

University of Hawai‘i Maui College (UHMC) proposes to use Title III grant funds to: 1) Develop a new student intake process that includes a needs assessment to mitigate student barriers, utilizing Achieving the Dream’s (AtD), Holistic and Integrated Student Supports tools, and case management to increase the enrollment, retention and completion of NHs in a student success program; 2) Work with an Instructional Designer (ID) to incorporate culturally based training in various modalities and durations for students that include training regarding: financial literacy, creative course scheduling, financing college, and financial aid planning. Create and offer a new face-to-face course, more hybrid and on-line coursework, more condensed coursework; and develop support services around on-line coursework to increase completion rates; 3) Integrate academic and professional studies in real-world practice by providing career preparation activities in year one of the student success program, and in year two, work experience opportunities in partnership with UHMC’s CareerLink program thereby confirming their career choice, or giving them an early opportunity to make career changes.

As an AtD Leader College, UHMC will be using current best practices to address student needs

from the start of their academic careers, barriers will be addressed and possibly mitigated in hopes of keeping students focused on their academic goal: graduation. An Instructional Designer will work with faculty and Title III staff to create a course based on students’ needs. This course will be offered in different modalities, and coursework may be condensed in an effort to find out which combination works best for full-time, and especially part-time students. The goal is to offer training and coursework to strengthen students’ foundations to reduce the trend where 30% of all new students reduce the number of credits that they first enrolled in in their second semester. Part-time students make up to 68% of UHMC’s total enrollment. Part-time students matriculate at 150% time, (six years), on average at a little more than 9% from AYs 2011-2013. The best strategy we have is to train part-time students to be better prepared and financially more savvy students in order for them to increase their credit loads. The activities will be geared toward having more students maintain or increase their credit loads.

UHMC also wants students to focus on career pathways in the critical first year as a retention and student success strategy. The ID will create a career prep course and/or modularized workshop developed using FOCUS 2 Internet based curriculum. Students will participate in career prep activities in their first year. In their second year, students will have the opportunity to participate in work based learning activities that include job shadowing and internships to ensure they have made the right career choice before heading out into the job market or transferring to upper division courses.

Through our AtD network, participating colleges across the country are recognizing that colleges

need to be student ready, have equity minded strategies and policies if they hope to retain students in an ever decreasing pool of new students. This proposal will help UHMC to build its capacity, and students’ self-sustainability to mitigate identified on and off campus barriers, offer courses and workshops that fit students’ schedule whether online or face-to-face, and fill foundation gaps in their soft skills, and finally give students an opportunity to make better informed choices about their careers. This project addresses the Competitive Preference Priority, providing financial literacy education to foster informed and responsible citizens.

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**PR Award #:** P031W200002

**Institution Name:** Windward Community College

**Project Title:**E oi mau: increasing knowledge through application 

Despite increasing Native Hawaiian (NH) enrollment (40%), and NH and overall graduation rates, Windward Community College (WCC) suffers from decreased enrollment in Liberal Arts and Hawaiian Studies (NH and All), limited career pathways and gaps in grade point average**(**GPA), with an associated impact on credit completion, and cohort graduation rate for NH students. While the communities WCC serve have a strong needed for more qualified teachers, the college has only one education course and no career pathway to this profession. Generally, WCC has no career pathways outside of STEM fields.

*Goals of Institution:*

HPMDS: High Performance Mission Driven System...ensure UH’s ability to provide...affordable access to a superb higher education experience...which includes commitments to being a foremost indigenous-serving university. (WCC Goal: 4)

HGI: Hawaii Graduation Initiative: Increase the educational capital of the state by increasing the

participation and completion of students, particularly Native Hawaiians...preparing them for success in the workforce and their communities. (WCC Goal 1) 

HII: Hawaii Innovation Initiative: Create more high-quality jobs and diversify Hawaii’s economy by leading...innovation, research, education and training enterprise that addresses the challenges and opportunities faced by Hawaii and the world. (WCC Goal 2)

**Activity 1: ‘O ke kahua ma mua, ma hope ke kūkulu “First the foundation, then the**

**structure”***Create a foundation for students which is centered in traditional Native Hawaiian*

*career pathways and education.*

This activity centers work-based learning at WCC on traditional Native Hawaiian career pathways and indigenous education. It includes a speaker series, curricular impact and creation of an education pathway.

**Activity 2: Ma ka hana ka ‘ike “In doing one learns”**

*Develop systematic career education, which incorporates financial literacy training and workbased*

*learning opportunities, including campus-based positions.*

This activity revises student success and career coursework to include financial literacy and career pathways and develops a framework for work-based learning which is

implemented with on campus student employment.

This project is based on current evidence-based best practice in higher education, which increases college success by promoting pathways to labor markets and further training (e.g. Jenkins, et al., 2018). Culturally relevant curriculum significantly (p<.01) increases academic interest and feelings of belonging (Byrd 2016). Student engagement, such as through the speaker series, improves grades and persistence (Kuh 2008). On campus, part-time work has a net positive effect on grades (Pike 2009). Participation in work study increases credit accumulation (Soliz and Long 2016), persistence to the second year (Scott-Clayton and Minaya 2016) and graduation, especially for those who would work anyway, lower income students, and students attending public institutions (p<.05, Scott-Clayton & Minaya, 2016).

Successful implementation will result in a NH careerways speaker series, an indigenous education pathway, increased incorporation careers into broader curriculum, improved career coursework, a work-based learning framework, a 10% increase in enrollment (NH & All) in the AA Hawaiian Studies, elimination of NH GPA gap, 2.5% increase in NH cohort graduation rate, and 5% increase in (NH and All) AA Liberal Arts AA graduation rate. **E ʻOi Mau**builds the capacity of WCC to support NH student success by meeting institutional and system goals.

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**PR Award #:** P031W200004

**Institution Name:** University of Hawaii at Hilo

**Project Title:** Kukulu: Strengthening Native Hawaiian Leadership by Building Retention and Graduation Efforts

***Project Overview***

University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo), a Native Hawaiian-Serving Institution, seeks a Title III Part A Individual Development Grant to implement and evaluate the proposed project- **Kukulu**. Promoting and sustaining a Hawaiian worldview in the UH Hilo campus environment, programs, services and leadership to increase the success of Native Hawaiian students will be the focus of this project. This project aims to specifically target returning Native Hawaiians who stopped-out, Native Hawaiian transfer students, and Native Hawaiian students enrolled in UH Hilo Hawaiian Language and Culture courses. Three activities are proposed: Activity 1: Strengthening Leadership Development, Activity Two: Empowering Campus and Community Engagement, and Activity Three: Enhancing Hawaiian Language, Culture and Knowledge Learning Pathways.

The **competitive preference priority,***Fostering Knowledge And Promoting The Development Of Skills That Prepare Students To Be Informed, Thoughtful, And Productive Individuals and Citizens*will be accomplished**through this grant with Native Hawaiian student participation in grant activities specifically with a focus on Native**Hawaiian cultural financial literacy, knowledge of higher education financing and repayment, and other skills aimed**at building personal financial understanding and responsibility.

Project goals include 1) Increase Native Hawaiian student enrollment through retention efforts, 2) Increase Native Hawaiian student graduation rates, 3) Increase Native Hawaiian student engagement in Hawaiian language and culture learning pathways.

The expected project outcomes are as follows:

Activity 1: a) By close of the project, 56 leadership development activities to help strengthen leadership development for Native Hawaiian students, targeting Native Hawaiian returning students who stopped-out will be completed; b) Each year, at least 70% of Native Hawaiian students participating in leadership development activities will have persisted to Fall semester; c) Each year, at least 80% of Native Hawaiian students participating in leadership development activities will have indicated an increase in developed leadership skills, which contributed

to their persistence to Fall semester.

Activity 2: a) By close of the project, 56 leadership development activities to help empower campus and community engagement for Native Hawaiian students, targeting Native Hawaiian transfer students will have been completed; b) Each year, a cohort of 20 Native Hawaiian transfer students participating in campus and community engagement opportunities; c) Each year, at least 75% of Native Hawaiian students participating in campus and community engagement opportunities will have persisted to Fall semester; d) Each year, at least 80% of Native Hawaiian students participating in campus and community engagement opportunities will have indicated that engagement

activities contributed to their retention; e) After year four and year five, at least 25% of Native Hawaiian students participating in community engagement opportunities will have graduated

Activity 3: a) By close of the project, 36 Hawaiian language and culture activities planned, targeting Native Hawaiian students enrolled in UH Hilo Hawaiian language and culture courses; b) Every year, at least 85% of Native Hawaiian students participating in Hawaiian language and cultural learning opportunities will have persisted to Fall semester; c) Every year, 80% of Native Hawaiian students participating in Hawaiian language and culture learning opportunities will indicate an increase in Hawaiian language, culture, and knowledge, contributing to their persistence to Fall semester.

UH Hilo is part of the University of Hawaii System of public higher education, which includes 10 campuses; three universities, seven community colleges and dozens of community-based education, training and research centers across the Hawaiian Islands. UH Hilo is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

**PR Award #:** P031W200003

**Institution Name:** Honolulu Community College

**Project Title:** Ola Niuhelewai – Improving Native Hawaiian Success through Well-Being

Honolulu Community College (HonCC) proposes a grant, named “Ola Niuhelewai –

Improving Native Hawaiian Success through Well-Being.” The overarching theme of this project

is “mauli ola” and it is inspired by the olelo noeau, or proverb: “Ka la i ka Mauliola,” which is

translated as “the sun at the source of life” (Pukui, 1983, p. 154). Mauli ola refers to health and

well-being and it is described as a holistic approach that balances Native Hawaiians’ traditional

concepts of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health (OHA, 2019, Mauli Ola). The goal

of this project is to raise HonCC’s Native Hawaiian students’ satisfactory academic progress,

retention, and graduation by increasing their health literacy through a culturally relevant

curriculum focused on the roles of aina (land) and ola pono (personal health and wellness) in

mauli ola (well-being). The project uses the metaphor of the rising sun and the aforementioned

proverb, “ka la i ka Mauliola,” to design activities that scaffold students’ learning. To that end,

the project will foster Native Hawaiian students’ connections between aina, ola pono, and mauli

ola and provide in-depth training to develop skills and knowledge in these areas. As a result,

participating students will demonstrate proficiency and authentic application of the skills and

knowledge they developed, improved health literacy, and academic progress. This will all be

achieved by the following activities:

**1) Pawa – Mauli Ola Field Trips & Workshops**: The project will coordinate workshops

and field trips that connect students to experts in the field of aina or ola pono.

**2) Kukalaula – Mauli Ola Collaborative Learning Pathways**: The project will create

collaborative learning pathways starting with New Student Registrations and New

Student Orientations. In addition, three cohorts of students will be recruited to participate in mentorships with experts in aina or ola pono.

**3) Owakawaka – Mauli Ola Leadership Development Training**: Three cohorts of

students will work with a mentor to complete a capstone project that will improve mauli ola on campus, have an opportunity to attend a local conference focused on either aina or ola pono, and participate in a service learning field trip to the island of Kahoʻolawe.

**4) Wanaao – Mauli Ola Peer Mentorships**: Participants who have completed leadership

development training will become agents of change through Peer Mentorships.

As a result of these activities, by the end of the five-year period, the project will:

• Increase health literacy for 500 Native Hawaiians,

• Increase Native Hawaiian general course completion 5% and CTE course completion 3%,

• Increase Native Hawaiian retention from Fall to Fall semesters 3%, and

• Increase Native Hawaiian graduation 3%.

**PR Award #:** P031W200007

**Institution Name:** Chaminade University of Honolulu

**Project Title:** Strengthening Island Health Professions

Chaminade University of Honolulu’s proposed Title III Part A project is the support and

onboarding of a new degree program at Chaminade, the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP).

The DNP program was identified as a priority in response to 1) student demand for health-related

professional degrees, 2) the community’s critical need for more advanced practical nurses with DNP degrees, and 3) its appropriate fit to our mission. Launching a DNP program is tied directly to the University’s 2019-2024 Strategic Plan, or Comprehensive Development Plan. In the plan, Chaminade is called to respond more quickly to the dynamic needs of the workforce by developing more community-focused programming. Like other states across the nation, Hawai‘I faces a growing and aging population, creating greater demand for qualified direct patient care. At the same time, Hawai‘i is losing doctors, particularly primary care physicians. Since DNP-educated nurses provide direct patient care, as well as manage the care of patients and patient populations, increasing the number of these advanced nurse practitioners can mitigate the physician shortage and help Hawai‘i meet its primary care needs. Chaminade’s DNP program will also focus on Hawaii’s healthcare landscape, including our population and our particular health disparities – a DNP program from Hawai'i, for Hawai'i.

As a potential new revenue source, a DNP program addresses another of Chaminade’s

strategic priorities, namely the need to diversify revenue sources given the nationwide shrinking

enrollment of traditional undergraduate students. The proposed DNP program is estimated to

yield sustainable profits by the end of the grant period.

The creation of a DNP program will contribute to Chaminade’s growth and self-sufficiency.

It is student- and community-focused, allowing us to attract new graduate students to an in-demand graduate program that will increase revenue for Chaminade while also meeting our mission of serving the community.