Hawai‘i Community College’s Tropical Ecosystem and Agroforestry Management (TEAM) Program marks its 25th anniversary in 2025. As the only program of its kind in the University of Hawai‘i’s community college system, the TEAM program plays a vital role in training local students for careers in conservation and natural resource management in Hawai‘i.

“It’s kind of unusual to have a conservation/agroforestry program at the undergraduate level,” says Orlo Steele, associate professor and TEAM program director. “We are the only college here in Hawai‘i that trains undergraduates for doing conservation [work] after an Associate of Science degree, which is really amazing.”

The program, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, blends academics with hands-on training in agroforestry, forest surveying, silviculture (the growing and cultivation of trees), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Students gain experience using drones, field sampling tools, and traditional skills like compass navigation and plant identification. Hawaiian cultural knowledge is also integrated into forest management practices.

Lower Summer Tuition

The University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges are making summer learning more accessible and affordable by aligning tuition rates with the fall and spring semesters. At just $131 per credit for Hawaiʻi residents, students can take advantage of this cost-saving opportunity to stay on track, explore new interests, or accelerate their path to graduation. Students advocated for the lower summer tuition, with leadership from the Kapiʻolani CC Student Congress. The three-year pilot will be evaluated in 2028 to determine if it should be continued.

Hawai‘i Student Success Institute  

The 2025 Hawai‘i Student Success Institute (HISSI) is scheduled for this Friday, March 7, 2025, at the Hawai‘i Convention Center and is open to administrators, faculty and staff from all areas of the UH Community Colleges. 

This year’s theme, Navigating Uncharted Waters: Exploring New Horizons, acknowledges the changing environment that we are living in with an optimistic view of how we can transform the community colleges to meet the needs of tomorrow. After the disruption of the pandemic, technology has accelerated its impact on our daily lives in positive and negative ways. We need to explore how to harness technology and use it to improve the way we support our students as they pursue higher education in preparation for the workforce of tomorrow.

If you are interested in attending 2025 HISSI, you can register on-site at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center on March 7. Please check out the HISSI website for information on changes to the entrance for the convention center parking structure.

Shared Governance Survey    

An anonymous survey was sent to all community college faculty and staff in early 2024 to collect feedback on the effectiveness of role delineation governance and decision-making processes at the UH System and UHCC System level. The results of the survey were used in support of the colleges’ Institutional Self-Evaluation Reports (ISERs) and to make improvements in our shared governance processes. The survey received 174 responses, see the summary of the survey responses here.

The Community College Council of Faculty Senate Chairs (CCCFSC) advises the Vice President for Community Colleges (VPCC) on matters of academic policy, quality, and standards related to the community college system. 

This group of campus leaders have an important role in bringing attention to issues potentially impacting the community colleges, participating in academic planning and budgeting for the community college system, and speaking on behalf of the campus faculty with the intent to minimize the time between initiation and action of an issue. Working together we identify issues of concern and find ways to move forward in support of the colleges and the faculty. 

The CCCFSC members meet monthly with the VPCC after participating in the All Campus Council of Faculty Senate Chairs (ACCFSC). Meeting notes from the 2024-2025 CCCFSC meetings can be found online.

CCCFSC Members

• Hawaiʻi CC: Jana Smith
• Honolulu CC: Brent Rubio
• Kapiʻolani CC: Shawn Ford
• Kauaʻi CC: Mark Ombrello
• Leeward CC: Kelsie Aguiliera
• UH Maui C: Derek Synder
• Windward CC: Lance Uyeda

• Can AI Actually Help Students Write Authentically?
  The Chronicle newsletter, Teaching, shares one professor’s approach to using AI to help students become effective writers. This may require login with a free Chronicle  account. Other timely articles can be found at the Teaching newsletter archive.
• North Carolina Community College System Launches Boost Program
  Funded by philanthropy Arnold Ventures, NC Community Colleges Boost is a new program designed to quickly move students into high-wage, high-demand careers to meet North Carolina’s workforce development needs. Modeled after the City University of New York’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (CUNY ASAP), which doubled graduation rates, reduced time to graduation, and lowered costs for participating students, the Boost program will serve students at eight North Carolina colleges in 2025 and seven more in 2026.
• A Collective Workforce Effort
  Getting students skilled and into the workforce fast is not new to community colleges. But as the number of job openings climbs across multiple sectors, colleges are also ramping up short-term programs while adding new supports to make them more accessible.
• Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities on the Road to Postsecondary Opportunities
  North Carolina community colleges have been working to better support students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), aiming to improve their employability and life skills. Programs like Wake Technical’s Pathfinder Career Exploration and South Piedmont’s Compass Education help students gain skills for the workplace, such as food service and employability training. These programs are part of a statewide initiative called Access to Achievement, which began in 2021 with funding for pilot programs at select colleges. These programs provide essential skills, certifications, and social experiences, and emphasize community outreach to raise awareness and increase access for students with IDD. The goal is to prepare these students for independence and employment opportunities.
• Human-Centered AI: The Key to Effective Next-Gen Courses - RECORDING
  View the recording of WCET’s webcast on February 12, hosted in partnership with LearningMate, that explored how AI can be used to augment human capabilities and create a future of education where technology serves as a tool for empowerment, not a substitute for human connection.
• Innovative Educatorsʻ Go2Knowledge
  
  • Take advantage of our free UHCC systemwide Go2Knowledge membership for all CC campuses.
  • Contact: uhccids@hawaii.edu
  • Innovative Educators’ Go2Knowledge offers training on a wide range of topics that are timely, practical, and relevant for higher education. The format includes both live webinars and a digital library for on-demand access. Sign up for a UHCC Go2Knowledge account (or log in if you had an account with a CC campus before), and take advantage of quality professional development from anywhere. Here are a few samples of upcoming live webinars. Recordings can be viewed on demand later:
    • Integrating AI Into Online Courses: Practical Strategies To Improve Engagement -Tuesday, March 11, 9:00–10:00 am HST
    • Building Digital Literacy: Equipping Students to Think Critically & Engage Responsibly - Thursday, March 20, 7:00–7:45 am HST
      
    • Key Trends In Student Behavior & Engagement: Insights For Faculty & Administrators - Friday, March 21, 7:00–8:00 am HST
    • Integrating Appreciative Advising To Positively Impact Retention, Persistence & Graduation - Tuesday, April 15, 7:00–8:30 am HST