The banner at the entrance to the University of Hawaii Maui College campus reads “Your community’s college.” Though the once-named Maui Community College received accreditation granting it the title of University, it still aims primarily to support the community with practical offerings rather than draw outside students to research facilities like UH’s Manoa campus.
In any UHMC classroom one will find parents, middle-agers and self-sufficient young people who want to pursue higher education while working full-time and keeping up with life’s responsibilities. UHMC is helping students meet this challenge with a new Degree-in-Three (D3) program, which accommodates students’ working schedules by offering a combination of online, cable TV and evening-only classes towards the completion of an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts.
For many, the AA in Liberal Arts is an important step into higher education. Students who complete the AA in Liberal Arts program at UHMC are then able to transfer into baccalaureate programs within the UH system and have their general education requirements waived.
“This is a great opportunity for anyone who might have started college but didn’t finish, or didn’t have the support needed to complete a degree,” said D-3 counselor Linda Fujitani in a Mar. 11 statement. “Through this program students will be part of a cohort or class of other working professionals, all focused on achieving their associate degree in three years. That way they have the support of their peers in addition to the support provided by our academic counselors.”
Information sessions for those interested in learning more about the program will be held Mar. 14 and Mar. 19 at 5:30pm in the Ka‘a‘ike building, Room 109. Topics will include financial aid, transferring college credits from other institutions, program and time requirements and information about student support services.
On the subject of institutions of higher learning serving the community, it’s worth noting that on Mar. 11 Honolulu Civil Beat reported on a Wall Street Journal article that placed the University of Hawaii second in the nation on the rate of tuition increase. According to the report, tuition at UH has increased 108 percent from the academic year 2006-2007 to the current 2012-2013. The report generalizes that these increases can be attributed to decreases in state funding.
For more information about the Degree-in-Three program or to RSVP for the information session, contact Linda Fujitani at 808-984-3226, lkfujita@hawaii.edu.
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