LIHUE — Kauai Community College announced on Thursday that it is the recipient of a Ka Pilina $4,362,491 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to create a transfer center on the Puhi campus.
The transfer center will provide wrap-around student services for students wishing to transfer from Kauai Community College (KCC) to a four-year-degree college within the University of Hawaii system. The transfer center will also expand educational program offerings at the Puhi campus.
“The transfer center model has been a vision of the three University Centers located on Maui, Kauai and Hawaii Island,” said Dr. Valerie Barko, the Director of Institutional Effectiveness and University Center, Kauai Community College.
“My hope is that the (KCC) transfer center will serve as a model for the UH system. We are very excited to have a representative from each of the four-year-degree offering campuses available to assist our students with their academic journeys.”
The Ka Pilina grant will provide the funds to build the first transfer center within the University of Hawaii system that will house representative counselors from the largest four-year-degree offering campuses, including UH West Oahu, UH Hilo and UH Manoa.
The grant will also involve reconfiguring programs and courses across multiple UH campuses to allow for improved degree transfer pathways with an emphasis on the pre-med, information technology and secondary education.
Barko said Ka Pilina will address gaps in college opportunity, higher education transfer support and geographic access as a means to increase the number of Native Hawaiian learners who remain embedded in their home communities while following higher education pathways to careers earning a living wage.
The transfer center will serve students pursuing a four-year degree across the UH system by providing a campus-neutral, on-island presence for students to receive career pathways support regardless of the institution in which they are enrolled in, states a news release from the University of Hawaii.
In addition to transfer services, the center will offer support including mental health, academic assistance, emergency aid, personalized Coordinated Access Resource Entry System, known as CARES, as well as plans to help students overcome barriers and successfully complete their degree pathways.
The collaboration extends to other UH campuses with Leeward Community College (LCC) offering its Associate of Science in Teaching program in-person at KCC, and UH Hilo and UH Manoa supporting pathways into their elementary education programs.
“I am excited to strengthen our partnership with (KCC) and to provide smooth pathways for Kauai students who wish to transfer to UH Hilo and benefit from our hands-on, place-based academic programs,” said UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin.
Jeffery Judd, the LCC Associate of Science Teaching Program coordinator, said the program’s faculty is thrilled to offer more options for Kauai residents.
“We are excited to collaborate with (KCC) to bring our AS in Teaching degree to students on Kauai who are seeking teaching careers in English, math or science,” Judd said. “By offering in-person courses and personalized support, we are empowering the next generation of educators to make a meaningful impact in their communities.”
KCC Contracts and Grant Specialist Berna Souza said KCC’s Hale Malama has modified an in-depth Malama Matrix assessment used with students who have been met with nonacademic challenges that are impacting their ability to complete their program of study.
“This assessment allows us to have serious conversations about mental health, financial well-being and other needs of the students,” Souza said.
“It gives us the opportunity to figure out what areas we can assist with, whether that’s with support to purchase supplies, or technology or community resources we can help connect the students to with the goal of helping them complete their degree path and break down barriers which might be in their way.”
For more information, visit www.kauai.hawaii.edu.
