University of Hawaii at Manoa
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

The University of Hawaiʻi is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution and is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of race, sex, gender identity and expression, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, arrest and court record, sexual orientation, or status as a covered veteran. This policy covers academic considerations such as admission and access to, and participation and treatment in, the University’s programs, activities, and services. With regard to employment, the University is committed to equal opportunity in all personnel actions such as recruitment, hiring, promotion, and compensation. Sexual harassment and other forms of discriminatory harassment are prohibited under University policy.
The University strives to promote full realization of equal opportunity through a positive, continuing affirmative action program in compliance with federal Executive Order 11246. The program includes measuring performance against specific annual hiring goals, monitoring progress, and reporting on good faith efforts and results in annual affirmative action plan reports. As a government contractor, the University is committed to an affirmative policy of hiring and advancing in employment qualified persons with disabilities and covered veterans.
https://www.hawaii.edu/offices/eeo/policies/

Student Outreach:
Outreach Efforts – Native Hawaiian Student Services
Office of Student Diversity & Inclusion has a number of programs
College Opportunities Program https://www.hawaii.edu/cop/

Academic staff Outreach:
The Search Advocates program is designed to support the recruitment of academic staff from underrepresented groups. Required for tenure-track faculty positions. https://manoa.hawaii.edu/campusclimate/staff-and-faculty-diversity-equity-and-inclusion/

Bridge to Hope (BTH) provides support services and community referrals to students with children, with a focus on the needs of low-income student parents. Additionally, BTH administers the Osher Reentry Scholars at Mānoa, a program for adults returning to UH Mānoa after a minimum 5-year gap in their education. BTH developed a nationally recognized, model partnership with the State of Hawaiʻi supporting college education as a means for welfare participants to achieve life-long economic self-sufficiency. BTH is part of the Women’s Center and Student Equity, Excellence & Diversity (SEED) office. http://www.hawaii.edu/bridgetohope/

Native Hawaiian Student Services (NHSS) programs are designed to improve institutional access, student-faculty engagement, research, leadership, and success, by fostering Hawaiian identities and cultivating Hawaiian scholarship. NHSS provides academic and wellness counseling; Hawaiian language tutoring; computer and printing access; programs and services referrals; academic enrichment, career development and technology workshops; and cultural and community engagement opportunities for its students. https://manoa.hawaii.edu/nhss/services/student-scholar-spaces/

Many programs addressing aspects of this credit were identified, and assessment of campus support for underrepresented groups continues.

Existing UH Mānoa programs supporting for underrepresented groups include:

The Office of Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity (SEED) recognizes underrepresented groups in higher education. They provide programs for the recruitment and success of students from these groups. Further, they provide administrative support to committees addressing diversity issues at Manoa and system wide. Groups that promote diversity in higher education include Native Hawaiians, underrepresented ethnic groups, students transitioning from welfare to work, students with disabilities, under-prepared students, academically gifted students, adults returning to education, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex students. SEED programs and activities promote the diversity of the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa strategic plan. http://www.studentaffairs.manoa.hawaii.edu/departments/seed.php

SEED Programs and Services include:

- Bridge to Hope
- University of Hawaii at Mānoa Children’s Center
- Graduate Professional Access (GPA)
- Health Careers Opportunity Program
- KOKUA Program (Disability Access Services)
- Kuaʻana - Native Hawaiian Student Development Services
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) Student Services
- Mānoa Educational Talent Search
- Nā Pua Noʻeau - Center for Gifted and Talented Native Hawaiian Children
- National Student Exchange Program (NSE)
- Office of Multicultural Student Services
- Office of Veteran Support Services (OVSS)
- Online Learning Academy
- Osher Reentry Scholarships
- Program for After-School Literacy Support (PALS)
- Place-based Learning And Community Engagement in School (PLACES)
- SEED Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access and Success (IDEAS)
- Senior Citizen Visitor Program - Na Kupuna
- Student Parents At Mānoa (SPAM)
- Women’s Center

Additional Student-focussed programs include:
* ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Hour: ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Hour is hosted each and every Wednesday for students to practice their Hawaiian language skills. All students, from beginning to advanced levels, are invited to come together and utilize their ʻōlelo outside of the classroom. Our goal is to promote the use of the Hawaiian language in real-life situations.

* Aloha ʻĀina Days: Aloha ʻĀina (love for the land) is a community service opportunity for both high school and UH-Mānoa students that was created to give back to the community and land as well as create first hand higher education opportunities for college students. High school students from different parts of Oʻahu are invited to participate with college students to get “down and dirty” and give to the ʻāina in various locations while also learning to make connections with one another. The various community service projects we have supported range from Ka Papa Loʻi o Kānewai to Kupu Ola in Nānākuli. NHSS – Mālama Program hosts Aloha ʻĀina events each semester.

* Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) is a comprehensive national and community-based process for transformational and sustainable change, with the goal of addressing historic and contemporary effects of racism. The multi-year initiative will educate, prepare and inspire the next generation of leaders to advance justice and build equitable communities.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) Student Services

* The LGBTQ+ Center sponsors annual events, including National Coming Out Day (October); Transgender Day of Remembrance (November); and the Rainbow Graduation Extravaganza (May) which celebrates the achievements of our graduating LGBTQ+ and ally students.

* Safe Zone Training: LGBTQ+ Safety and Inclusion: Open to anyone looking to address oppression and be part of a university-wide campaign to build a safe and welcoming campus community for LGBTQ+ people. Completers of the training receive a Safe Zone sign to indicate their participation in this program aimed at addressing campus climate, LGBTQ+ inclusion and equity. The training addresses: how to identify and respond to homophobia and sex discrimination, how to address gender identity and gender-based harassment, and how to be an effective ally or advocate for LGBTQ+ people
Students

* Malama Program: Native Hawaiian Student Services – Mālama Program provides high school and community college students an opportunity to get a hands-on experience at UH Mānoa as well as life as a college student by visiting different departments and resources UH Mānoa has to provide.

* GEAR UP: The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus is a proud partner of GEAR UP, which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the program aims to significantly increase the number of low-income students pursuing and succeeding in higher education, including the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa — the flagship campus within the 10-campus UH system. The goal is to increase the number of students who are prepared to succeed in college. We hope to support all post-high school planning whether high education, work employment, and more.

* College Opportunities Program: Offers a statewide entry-level freshman program that provides a summer and first-year residential college experience for individuals who are: Hawaiʻi residents and who may not meet the minimum requirements for admission to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM), are academically under prepared, economically disadvantaged, represent a positive role model to communities underrepresented at the UHM, non-traditional, or in need of a structured college entry.

* Kua’ana Native Hawaiian Student Development Services: Since 1988, Kuaʻana has served thousands of Hawaiian students through student services that include need-based tuition waivers, mālama ʻāina activities, an annual financial aid fair, as well as scholarship resources off and on the Mānoa campus.

*ʻŌiwi Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program: The NHSS ʻŌiwi Undergraduate Research Fellowship provides paid research opportunities for Native Hawaiian undergraduates at UH Mānoa from all disciplines and majors. Developing student scholars is critical to Native Hawaiian Student Services’ mission to prepare students to build upon the legacy of excellence from our ancestors in order to be responsive to the needs and ʻauamo the kuleana of our time. Through this program students will develop research and critical thinking skills by working on a project under the mentorship of a faculty person. Each fellowship supports approximately 370 hours of paid project time for the student that should be worked throughout the course of the school year and that can extend through the summer, as well as a stipend for the faculty mentor.

* Nā Pua No‘eau UH Mānoa: Throughout the year NPN UH Mānoa provides enrichment programs grounded in Hawaiian culture and language as the foundation for keiki of all ages. With family engagement, college preparedness and summer enrichment opportunities, it is hoped students will be inspired to pursue their post high school and career pathway aspirations.

* Eia Mānoa Summer Institute: Tuition-free summer school is available for new, transfer & continuing Hawaiian students at UH Mānoa to take a class with a cohort of other Hawaiian students & taught by Hawaiian instructors! The Summer Institute provides for-credit sheltered classes for incoming, freshmen, transfer, and continuing Hawaiian students to take courses as a cohort over the summer taught by amazing instructors and with enrichment programming embedded into the program itself.Students earned credits toward graduation and as a supplement, participated in workshops that introduce them to student resources, prepare them with the necessary skills and tools for their first year in college, and helped them build a Hawaiian identity at UH Mānoa.

Staff & Faculty Resources include:
* The Kūali‘i Council represents Native Hawaiians from 18 Hawaiian serving programs at UH Mānoa, as well as Hawaiians affiliated with other Mānoa units. The Kūali‘i Council, whose members are faculty, professional staff, and graduate students, has the primary mission of advancing the status and condition of the Native Hawaiian people through the successful achievement in higher education by Native Hawaiian students and the promotion of Native Hawaiian administrators, faculty, and staff.

Additional Relevant Data Sources:
*http://manoa.hawaii.edu/policies/m1.000general/index.html
*https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2019/12/09/manoa-seeking-nominations-for-campus-commission/
*https://manoa.hawaii.edu/nhss/programs/
*https://www.hawaii.edu/cop/
*https://manoa.hawaii.edu/nhss/services/student-scholar-spaces/
*https://manoa.hawaii.edu/nhss/services/tutoring/
*https://manoa.hawaii.edu/nhss/services/workshops/
*https://manoa.hawaii.edu/news/article.php?aId=8054
*https://manoa.hawaii.edu/titleix/uhm-all-gender-restrooms-map/