PUHI — Kaua‘i Community College opened its classrooms Monday for the start of the spring semester.
The Puhi campus has 1,254 students enrolled this spring, an increase of four students over the 2011 spring semester, Earl Nishiguchi, vice chancellor for student affairs, stated in a preliminary enrollment report for the University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges.
KCC is one of three community colleges which show an increase in student enrollment over the seven-campus field, according to the report. Hawai‘i Community College reported 16 more students, and Windward Community College reported an increase of 142 students.
Despite the larger student body, semester hours dropped 93 hours over the 2011 spring semester.
All of this could change during the course of this week, since the college traditionally allows for late registration and changes during the first week of instruction in the semester.
One of the instructors said students will have a busy first two days at the campus, having to report for classes from noon until 9 p.m., with just a 40-minute break between the two classes.
“This is going to be tough,” he said. “But after that, things ease up.”
Another staff member commented on the numerous options students have for post-high school education, noting many students take classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and take the remainder of their classes online to enable them to sleep in.
The entrance to KCC opened Saturday morning, and motorists were being encouraged to be wary of the new alignment.
“I took Puhi Road to work this morning, and when the light turned green, I found out I was in the ‘out’ lane,” said a clerk at the KCC One Stop Center. “It’s good the entrance is open, but people should be careful of the new alignment.”
The entrance to the college spanned the Kaumuali‘i Highway Widening Project to Puhi Road and was closed so crews could work on that section during the college’s winter break.
Originally, the highway billboards announced a Jan. 8 re-opening, but progress enabled the entrance to re-open Saturday morning in time for the Kaua‘i Community Market.
“I had to be on O‘ahu, so I missed one or two markets during the break,” said KCC Chancellor Helen Cox, who was introducing her new secretary, Keisaku “Ace” Yogi, to some of the staff during the traditional natto party on Monday.
Visit www.kauai.hawaii.edu for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
