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>>UH Manoa student narrator Emilie Howlett: Results of the Hawaii Graduation Initiative,
which includes the15-to-Finish campaign, are generating national attention. The campaign
encourages students to take 15 credits a semester to graduate on time. The Hawaii Graduation
Initiative’s progress includes a 20 percent increase in UH graduates since 2008. Hawaii
was one of only three states selected for a Complete College America academy, which
was held recently at the State Capitol. Complete College America works with states to support
increased college completion. The University of Hawaii has been invited to present the
15-to-Finish campaign at Complete College America’s annual meeting in New Orleans.
>>Complete College America President Stanley Jones: Clearly Hawaii is one of the few states
that we decided to have a state academy. It is one of the few states that we are highlighting
at our national meeting. We look for things like leadership, is the commitment there from
the state, are they putting plans in place and are they measuring progress. Hawaii is
doing all the right kinds of things and they are showing remarkable progress in a short
amount of time. Hawaii is clearly one of the leading states in the country.
>>Narrator: Across the UH system, there was an almost 15-percent increase in the number
of students taking 15 or more credits in fall 2012 than the previous year.
>>UH President M.R.C. Greenwood: This is very important to parents and their students. If
you take 15 credits you can finish in four years and since many students were only taking
12, and therefore not finishing in four years, this is a huge financial saving to families
as well.
>>Narrator: The entire system is working together to meet the Hawaii Graduation Initiative’s
goal to increase the number of UH graduates by 25 percent in 2015.
>> M.R.C. Greenwood: This is national recognition that we are among leading states and that’s
because we strive to be, and hope to be, and I think we are rapidly becoming, one of the
best performing systems of higher education in the country.
>> UH Executive VP for Academic Affairs/Provost Linda Johnsrud: Everyone should be so proud
of what we’ve accomplished at UH and what we intend to accomplish.
>>Narrator: Hawaii is in the top 5 to 10 states in the country in terms of making progress
according to Jones of Complete College America. Now the University of Hawaii will share its
success to help other states.