UH-Hilo campus, file photo courtesy UH-Hilo

(BIVN) – Overall enrollment at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is down 4%, although enrollment across the entire 10 campuses of the UH System is up 3%. 

For the first time since 2018, enrollment across the UH system has surpassed 50,000 students. Enrollment is up at eight of the 10 campuses, which has not happened since 2010, university officials say. 

This bucks the national trend, which has recorded a 5% enrollment decline for freshmen who just graduated high school. First-time freshmen at UH from Hawaiʻi high schools increased by 10% across the system. 

Also on Hawaiʻi island, Hawaiʻi Community College saw a 1% enrollment increase.

UH-Hilo’s fall 2024 enrollment stands at 2,668. Despite the drop, Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin said she was “thrilled to see a 25% surge in returning students—those who had paused their studies during the pandemic and are now back to finish what they started.”

Haleʻōlelo building, file photo courtesy UH-Hilo

Irwin also noted gains in key areas, including out-of-state Native Hawaiian, transfer, graduate and veteran students. 

“This is not just good news for UH, it’s good news for the entire state,” said UH President David Lassner on the overall system increase. “The more people who go to college means a more skilled workforce, and that translates to higher wages, and fewer residents receiving government assistance. The ripple effect cannot be understated.”

“I am most excited about the increases in our first-time freshmen from Hawaiʻi, and the fact that we are bucking the national trend. The people of Hawaiʻi are truly seeing the value of their public higher education system,” Lassner added.