UH-Manoa graduation rates continue climb
HONOLULU — The on-time graduation rate for University of Hawaii at Manoa students doubled in the past decade. The school’s graduation rate now matches the national average for public universities.
The four-year graduation rate reached 36.6% for the class of 2019, up from 17.5% in 2010, according to the University of Hawaii Institutional Research &Analysis Office.
The national rate for public universities was 32.9% in 2010 and 36.9% in 2017, The National Center for Education Statistics reported.
The figures represent first-time, full-time freshmen who graduate from the institution where they originally enrolled.
Graduation rates at the state’s flagship campus were notably low 10 years ago. But the school won an Association of Public and Land Grant Universities national award in 2017 for success in increasing graduation rates.
Hawaii residents outpaced the overall average, with 43% of graduates from local public schools and 41% of local private school graduates earning degrees within four years of enrolling as first-time freshmen, officials said.
The university’s six-year graduation rate for bachelor’s degrees, the benchmark used by the federal government, reached 60.5% this year. The national public university average is 60%.
Honolulu council expected to pass strict plastics ban
HONOLULU — The Honolulu City Council is expected to pass the strictest ban in the state on single-use plastic products. A final vote is expected to pass during the council’s scheduled meeting today.
The bill was approved by the council’s Public Safety and Welfare Committee two weeks ago by a 3-2 vote, and a solid majority of the full council appears ready to pass the measure, officials said.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said he is likely to sign the bill.
Plastic bans went into effect in Maui and Hawaii counties during the past year, but they prohibit polystyrene foam containers only. The Honolulu bill would also apply to utensils and other serviceware.
The version approved by the Public Safety and Welfare Committee would prohibit food vendors from providing plastic forks, spoons, knives, straws or other utensils and plastic foam plates, cups and other containers beginning Jan. 1, 2021.