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Are you interested in transferring to UH Manoa? Well, the Kaʻieʻie program could be the right program for you!

What is Ka‘ie‘ie?

The Kaʻieʻie Program is designed to help students from the University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges transfer to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa smoothly and efficiently. It is named after a channel between Kauaʻi and Oʻahu as well as the ʻieʻie plant which is used in the process of preparing koa trees to become waʻa–sailing canoes. As a student in the Kaʻieʻie Program, transfer specialists will help you prepare for the next phase of your academic journey, successfully sailing from a UH Community College to UH Mānoa.

Goals

There are several goals of the program.

First, is to provide proactive academic planning and advising to students who would like to transfer to UH Mānoa, but are still taking classes at the community college.

Second, is to align your community college degree requirements with your UH Mānoa degree requirements, decreasing your time to degree completion.

Third, and most importantly, is to make the transfer process more efficient by eliminating barriers to UH Mānoa and connecting you to the appropriate resources.

Benefits

It is free to join. Other transfer students will need to submit an application to UH Mānoa and pay a $70 application fee. The program also waives the $200 tuition deposit that other students pay.

You will get academic advising from a UH Mānoa transfer specialist at the convenience of your community college campus. In our meetings, we will work with you to create an academic plan that has you transferring at the optimal time.

You will get your transfer credit evaluation completed early, which is especially useful if you have completed coursework from institutions outside of the University of Hawaiʻi System such as Hawaiʻi Pacific University, Chaminade University, a college on the continent or an international school.

You have the option to take courses at UH Mānoa while you are still a student at the community college.

And lastly, when you finally transfer to UH Mānoa, you will register for your UH Mānoa classes with continuing UH Mānoa students which is earlier than other transfer students. So it is like priority registration.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the program you need to be a University of Hawaiʻi community college student and have a UH Mānoa major in mind.

You must have 24 transferable credits, so that could mean 24 credits completed or 12 credits completed and 12 in progress. It is important to note that the credits need to be be 100 level and above in order for it to be transferable.

If you are a resident you need to have a GPA of 2.0. If you are a non-resident you need to have a GPA of 2.5.

If you have third-party transcripts, which means transcripts from a school outside the UH system, for example Hawaii Pacific University, Chaminade, a college on the continent or an international school, you will need to send those transcripts to UH Manoa admissions in order for your application to be processed.

You cannot have a prior bachelors degree and you cannot be on probation, suspension, or dismissal from UH Mānoa.

If youʻre an international student, you have to have completed ENG 100 or ESL 100 or have valid TOEFL scores.

You also have to have at least one semester remaining at the UH community college.

Timeline

The Kaʻieʻie program does require some planning! You must join the program at least one year before you transfer to UH Mānoa.

So, if you join in the beginning of a fall semester (before the Oct 1st deadline) you are joining the program for the Spring semester and then the earliest you can transfer is the following fall semester.

Similarly, if you join in the beginning of a Spring semester (before the March 1st deadline) you are joining the program for the Fall semester and then the earliest you can transfer is the following Spring semester.

Dual Admission, Dual Enrollment

This means that when you join the program, you are being conditionally admitted into UH Mānoa while you are completing your community college degree requirements. Your community college remains your primary or home campus, while UH Mānoa becomes your secondary campus.

Funding

It is important to understand that when you join the program, your funding, such as Financial Aid, VA Benefits, and Scholarships will come from your primary campus, which is your community college campus, not UH Manoa.

Remaining in Ka‘ie‘ie

Once you are in the Kaʻieʻie program you must stay eligible by completing mandatory advising. Every semester you are required to meet with the transfer specialist assigned to your campus. Then during the semester before you transfer to UH Mānoa, you will be required to go to UH Manoa and meet with the appropriate UH Mānoa academic advisor.

If you are transferring from Hawaiʻi CC, Kauaʻi CC, or Maui College distance advising will be available.

You must register for at least one credit each semester at your community college.

Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 at your community college campus and UH Manoa.

Maintain the minimum required credits at your community college in order to receive financial aid, veterans benefits, or scholarships.

Reminders

Students who join the program may get an English Language Institute hold which is for students who are not-native English speakers. Non-native English speakers are required to meet ELI requirements or meet an exemption requirement, however the hold is postponed for Ka’ie’ie students until they transfer to UHM.

Additionally, students who join the program may also get a UH Manoa health hold. All UHM students, even those not yet transferring, must provide health clearances to the UHM health center.

All Holds can be viewed on your STAR account.

If you have any questions about these, you can contact the Transfer Specialist assigned to your community college campus.

To Get Started

If you’re interested in joining this program, please make an appointment with:

Lauren Prepose-Forsen, EdD
Kaʻieʻie/UHM Transfer Counselor
Hale Kako‘o, Room 123
lprepose@hawaii.edu
808-235-7464

To Book an Appointment:
Login to Star Balance
Under “Specialized Academic Services” click on “Transfer to Manoa (Lauren)”

During this appointment your eligibility will be confirmed and, upon confirmation, you will be signed up.