(BIVN) – 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, or RSN.
The new initiative is being led by Ithaka S+R in partnership with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and is “aimed at helping more students from rural communities reach that same milestone.”
UH-Hilo is the only institution from Hawaiʻi to be named to the cohort.
The announcement comes just days after UH-Hilo held its Spring 2026 Commencement, where 589 students graduated. “Every graduate who crossed our stage this month is proof that rural-serving institutions change lives,” said UH 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.”
From the UH news release:
Funded by a two-year grant from the ECMC 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.
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. UH Hilo will focus on the transfer and workforce tracks — work that naturally encompasses the adult learners returning to finish a degree they once started. 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 UH 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 UH Community College and one walking across the UH Hilo stage with a bachelor’s degree,” said Chancellor Irwin. “It’s about the working parent who left UH 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.”
