Editorial: Workforce needs drive University of Hawaii strategy

The website for the University of Hawaii, the state’s system of 10 campuses, is topped with this miniature mission statement: “There’s a place for you.”

It’s just a line, but it encapsulates important aspects of the university’s latest strategic plan, including this one: UH seeks to serve those who are working toward gaining access into a sustaining job, whether through a four-year degree or a more entry-level credential.

There are the institution’s other pursuits outlined in its Strategic Plan 2023-2029, released in November and now factoring into lawmakers’ review of its administra- tion’s funding requests. UH wants $262.5 million and $296 million in operating funds, respectively, for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

This includes increases to restore general fund support to pre-pandemic levels and, importantly, $19 million to expand its “Hawai‘i Promise,” now a financial aid program for needy students at community colleges, to the UH’s four-year campuses as well. That expansion, in House Bill 390, was passed by the House Higher Education and Technology Committee on Friday.

UH officials say they are not worried about the significant difference in what Gov. Josh Green requested for the system in his budget: $117.5 million for the first year, and $125 million for the second. At this early stage, budget requests are still malleable, they said, which is true.

Regardless, there will be a great deal of competition for those funds.The difficult job ahead will be to carve out enough of the budget to make real gains on the university’s aims during an uncertain economic and societal transition.

Subtitled “Hawai‘i’s University for Today and Tomorrow,” the strategic plan document lays out its agenda in the form of overarching imperatives, goals and metrics for gauging success. These include fulfilling a kuleana (responsibility) to Native Hawaiians and Hawaii, student achievement and economic diversification through research.

But it is the one on meeting Hawaii’s workforce needs, now and in the future, that has captured a good share of the attention in budgetary reviews at the state Capitol. There is good reason for that. Filling many of the jobs will require employees with credentials that are now lacking, and giving job applicants the necessary skills is essential.

“We know, especially in health care, that we need to do more to educate people in this state,” said Debora Halbert, the university’s vice president for academic strategy, in an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Halbert was in charge of the multiyear process of developing the strategic plan, a process that was delayed by the pandemic, she said.

The pandemic upended much, within the UH system and everywhere in the state. The shortages in staffing for many Hawaii sectors already were known, but a shortage of locally based staff to provide health-care services, in particular, were laid bare by the struggle to keep up with COVID-19.

UH community colleges on Monday will unveil a new initiative, Good Jobs Hawai‘i, a coalition of businesses and educators providing needed skills training. That’s a key step, but the fact remains that many jobs in the most critical areas require a four-year degree, at a minimum.

The state’s interest lies in overcoming the hiring deficit in other areas as well. Education is of foremost concern, especially with the push toward universal preschool, also needing trained professionals with bachelor’s degrees.

IN 2020-21, more than 1,800 community college students benefited from almost $3 million in scholarships from Hawai‘i Promise, which is a “last dollar” assistance program. This means students who are income-qualified must first tap other sources of financing for tuition, with this program’s funds making up the difference.

It would be rational for the state to build on this successful program to develop students, whether the job lies at the end of a two- or four-year degree program.

Lawmakers have raised their concerns about other aftershocks of the pandemic, including the effectiveness of a system that still has many, students as well as faculty and staff, learning and working remotely.

UH will need to monitor the trends and ensure employees are accountable for their work, that faculty are accessible to students and that the balance of distance- and in-person learning makes sense.

Capital improvements must be in keeping with the facilities needs, which now are at a lower ebb, and efficiencies must be pursued. The plan to link the administrations of the UH Cancer Center and the John A. Burns School of Medicine, which was raised at a Jan. 12 Senate informational briefing, is an example of an encouraging trend.

For this session, the Legislature should support the potential of fulfilling “Hawai‘i Promise” in greater measure, for students pursuing four-year degrees. Students who are lacking only in resources deserve a chance to become part of the state’s workforce solution.