The American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) has ranked Honolulu No. 8 in the small cities category, among the top 75 cities and towns for college students for 2009-2010.
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| Downtown Honolulu |
Keming Liang, AIER research associate, said choosing the right college is not just about professors and classes.
“Conversations in coffee houses, performances in concert halls, and opportunities for corporate internships also contribute to education,” Liang said. “That is why AIER’s College Destination Index assesses a location’s broader learning environment.”
Hawai‘i Pacific University, committed to educating for global citizenship, is the state’s largest private university with more than 8,000 students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Hawai‘i Pacific offers more than 50 graduate and undergraduate programs, including the state’s largest Nursing and Master of Business Administration programs.
The College Destinations Index (CDI) subdivides more than 360 metropolitan areas into four tiers: Major Metros with populations greater than 2.5 million, Mid-Size Metros with one to 2.5 million residents, Small Cities with 250,000 to one million residents, and College Towns with under 250,000 residents. The top scoring destinations in each tier are then ranked by 12 measures ranging from student concentration to entrepreneurial opportunities.
“At HPU, students have the opportunity to combine academic experience with career development,” said Joseph Barrientos, director of HPU Career Services. “The HPU Career Services Center develops career shadowing opportunities in addition to internships and cooperative education. These experiences increase student potential to develop networks and relationships with employers while gaining invaluable knowledge and experience in their selected career field.”
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| Waikiki View of Town |
The destination evaluation is further organized into the three categories of Academic Environment, Quality of Life, and Professional Opportunities.
“During the 2008-2009 academic year, 240 students registered for new internships, co-ops and career shadowing,” Barrientos said. “In an economy where the applicant pool is large, but available jobs are few, employers are interested in meeting high-potential candidates at an earlier point in their academic experience. Career Services assists in the process of connecting students to employers.”
For Quality of Life, arts and leisure are used to measure the number of cultural and entertainment locations.
Hawai‘i Pacific contributes to cultural and entertainment aspects of the Honolulu community. The Paul and Vi Loo Theatre, located on the HPU windward Hawai‘i Loa Campus, has produced numerous award-winning productions in its 18 seasons at the University. The program gives students an opportunity to act or work on a show and learn from experienced practitioners.
Entrepreneurial activity, in the Professional Opportunities section, tracks the net annual increase of business establishments.
For more information about attending HPU, visit www.hpu.edu/admissions.
