UH-Manoa’s freshman class this fall is the biggest in the university’s 111-year history

Enrollment is down at other campuses, though.

By HNN Staff | September 26, 2018 at 3:05 PM HST - Updated September 26 at 3:07 PM

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - There are a lot of freshmen at UH-Manoa this fall. As in, record numbers.

The university’s flagship campus welcomed 2,209 freshmen to campus last month.

That's the largest freshman class in the university's 111-year history, and a 12.8 percent bump from a year ago.

It also breaks a record set two years ago.

“We have really been focusing on Hawaii high school students, and itʻs paying off because this record freshman class includes a 10 percent increase in local students,” said UH Manoa Associate Director of Admissions Ryan Yamaguchi, in a news release.

“We have dramatically increased our engagement with local high school counselors, our physical presence on campuses and increased communications and marketing initiatives with students and parents.”

Altogether this fall, 51,063 students are enrolled across the University of Hawaii’s 10-campus system. That’s down 1.2 percent from fall 2017.

UH-Manoa celebrates biggest freshman class But overall enrollment is down.
	Enrollment	Percentage Change
UH system	51,063 students	Dropped 1.2 percent
UH-Manoa	17,710	Increased .6 percent
UH-Hilo	3,406	Dropped 3.8 percent
UH-West Oahu	3,128	Increased 1.5 percent
UH community colleges	26,819	Decreased 2.3 percent
Hawaii CC	2,632	Decreased 6.6 percent
Honolulu CC	3,541	Decreased .6 percent
Kapiolani CC	6,899	Decreased 2.8 percent
Kauai CC	1,486	Increased 10.4 percent
Leeward CC	6,709	Decreased 1.4 percent
Maui College	3,092	Decreased 6.4 percent
Windward CC	2,460	Decreased 2 percent

SOURCE: University of Hawaii

Three campuses (UH Manoa, UH West Oahu and Kauai Community College) saw enrollment increases, while the rest saw their enrollments drop.

UH President David Lassner, who also serves as the interim chancellor at UH Manoa, said in a news release that the enrollment spikes at Manoa and Kauai show the system is headed in the "right direction."

“However, there remains a challenge with the strong economy, particularly at our community colleges,” he said. "Hawaii needs a more educated workforce and citizenry, and we have to get more students enrolled, keep them in school and graduate them on time.”