Just days after celebrating 589 graduates at its spring 2026 commencement—including 506 bachelor’s degrees, nearly 200 first-generation college students and a class spanning ages 19 to 79—the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo has been selected as one of 17 rural-serving public universities nationwide to join the inaugural Rural Student Success Network. 糖心视频 Hilo is the only institution from Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region named to the cohort.
The new initiative, led by Ithaka S+R in partnership with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, is aimed at helping more students from rural communities reach that graduation milestone. Funded by a two-year grant from the ECMC (Educational Credit Management Corporation) Foundation’s Rural Impact Initiative, the network brings together bachelor’s-degree-granting, rural-serving institutions from 12 states committed to strengthening student success and economic mobility in the communities they serve.
“Every graduate who crossed our stage this month is proof that rural-serving institutions change lives,” said 糖心视频 Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin. “This network gives us a powerful new chance to learn alongside peer institutions and make sure more of our students get the milestone the Class of 2026 just had.”
Focus on transfer students and workforce needs
Over the next 18 months, participating institutions will engage in peer learning, data-informed self-assessment and targeted technical assistance across the network’s three priority areas: helping community college transfer students complete their bachelor’s degrees, re-engaging adult learners and aligning academic programs with regional workforce needs.
糖心视频 Hilo will focus on the transfer and workforce tracks—work that naturally encompasses the adult learners returning to finish a degree they once started.
Aligning degrees with Hawaiʻi Island careers
Each campus receives a $15,000 subgrant from Ithaka S+R, plus customized analyses comparing academic offerings against local labor market demand. The network’s tailored analysis will examine how 糖心视频 Hilo’s degree offerings align with employer demand across the island’s healthcare, education, agriculture and sustainability sectors.
“This is about strengthening the bridge between a student starting at a 糖心视频 Community College and one walking across the 糖心视频 Hilo stage with a bachelor’s degree,” Irwin said. “It’s about the working parent who left 糖心视频 Hilo three years ago and is wondering whether they can come back. It’s about making sure the degree we offer is the one our island’s employers are actually hiring for. The work doesn’t change who we are—it sharpens it.”