Hawaiian Language Degrees

When: Spring 2018

Who: Lui Hokoana, Maui College Chancellor

What: University of Hawaiʻi offered the majority of its ten campuses Hawaiian diplomas in Spring 2018. By fall 2018, all campuses will hand out both a Hawaiian and English diploma for no extra charge.

Where: All ten University of Hawaiʻi Campuses.

Why: The initiative is part of the university’s goal to better serve its Native Hawaiian population and to recognize the state’s two official languages. (UH in Hawaiian is Ke Kulanui o Hawai‘i.)

Outcome: Help further the goals of the UH Office of Hawai‘i Papa O Ke Ao, a committee formed with members of each campus to develop, implement and analyze ways the university can be a leader in native Hawaiian education. The office hailed the move to print two diplomas as a way to move UH “closer to its goal of fostering and promoting the use of Hawaiian language at parity with English.”

Sources: theses. See for more information.

http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/May-2018/University-of-Hawaii-at-Manoa-Will-Now-Print-Hawaiian-Language-Diplomas-for-Most-Graduates/