Hawaii Tribune-Herald Sunday, March 19, 2017 3 UNIVERSITY TOWN It takes a Living Learning Community When Jetamio Henshaw started classes at the University of Hawaii at Hilo this fall, she was a bit nervous. “I came from a small Hawaiian charter school,” the 19-yearold Waikoloa native said. “In my graduating class there were only 10 people.” So, in an effort to make friends and ultimately succeed at the more than 3,500-student public school, Henshaw joined a Living Learning Community (LLC for short). LLCs are groups available for firsttime freshman such as Henshaw to live together, take a course together and spend quality time outside the classroom. LLCs are one of several initiatives UH-Hilo has launched in recent years in an effort to better engage its students with the campus. Administrators hope initiatives ultimately will help boost enrollment and improve student retention. When students “feel connected and engaged” to the university, they are more likely to return, said Farrah-Marie Gomes, UH-Hilo vice chancellor for Student Affairs. “Engaging students just gives us an opportunity to build a relationship with them on campus,” Gomes said. “It helps us address early warning signals and it broadens a student’s educational experience in ways we can’t even capture quantitatively. It’s an interactive and ongoing way to help better support student success on campus.” Staying power About one-fourth of incoming freshman are part of an LLC, currently offered in six subject areas: business, creative arts, environmental sustainability, Hawaiian culture and language, health and wellness and natural science. They don’t necessarily need to major in the LLC subject area. And it isn’t a new concept — LLCs are offered at several schools on the mainland. Research shows participating students stay in college longer, earn better grades than their non-LLC counterparts and report higher satisfaction overall with their college experience. “We’re all really close,” said Kainalu Steward, a 19-yearold freshman from Maui who’s part of the Hawaiian culture LLC. “For me, I’m in the Hawaiian studies program so it’s just made it easier to connect with people.” “It’s helped me be more successful,” added Henshaw, who’s part of the business LLC. “You’re just so close with everybody. I come from a small school where we felt like family and being able to come here and have that same feeling is awesome.” The campus is looking to expand LLC offerings to a nonresidential model in the future, Gomes said. Advising freshmen In 2013, UH-Hilo began its “Freshmen ‘Eleu” inititiative — requiring first-year students to meet with an adviser prior to registering for classes. The requirement is hoped to better prepare freshmen for their degree programs and give them access early on to advisers should future challenges arise, Gomes said. The campus reported last year 18.7 percent of first-time, full-time freshmen who enrolled in fall 2012 had graduated by spring 2016, its highest four-year graduation rate in recent years. In 2015, 13.6 percent of those freshmen graduated on time. “That constant, ongoing contact with advisers is really helpful for students to make informed decisions about (for example) changing majors or the type of classes they want to take,” Gomes said. “They have a professional there who can help them weigh the pros and cons and look at the ramifications. They have a better idea of what lies ahead for them.” Student employment The university also wants to ramp up and streamline training for student employees. Its 826 student employees staff 45 different places around campus including the athletic center, financial aid office and library. Administrators are looking to provide additional training to those employees — where possible — to better prepare them for the workforce. For example, a student employed to answer phones could receive additional training in telephone etiquette, Gomes said. “With student employees, we acknowledge they are students first and foremost,” she said. “But (we want to) instill skills in them and invest in our students as employees. It’s taking our role as the university employer seriously and investing time to help them develop as an employee and as a reflection of us.” Model program The campus began piloting two years ago its “integrated advising HOLLYN JOHNSON/Tribune-Herald Students Kainalu Steward and Jetamio Henshaw, seated, meet with coordinator Ho’oleina Ioane, for a discussion about why they joined a Living Learning Community in Hale Kanilehua at University of Hawaii at Hilo. By KIRSTEN JOHNSON Hawaii Tribune-Herald See LLC Page 4
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