One of 10 campuses in the University of Hawai‘i system, Hawai‘i CC offers 26 degree and certificate programs that prepare students to succeed in the workforce right after graduation or continue their studies at a four-year college or university.
Hawaiʻi Community College celebrated its 75th anniversary during the 2015-2016 academic year. Beginning in 1941 as the Hawaiʻi Vocational School, the college has provided access to higher education opportunities, trained a skilled workforce and supported the economic development of the County of Hawai'i. With the advancement in technology and expansion of educational opportunities into broader fields of technical training, the institution was renamed the Hawaiʻi Technical School in 1956.
In May 1970, the institution joined the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) as a comprehensive community college with the name Hawaiʻi Community College. Other significant developments for the college were the offering of college degree classes in Kona beginning in 1982, and the establishment of the continuing education programs throughout the island of Hawaiʻi in 1992. The college remains based in Hilo with a newer branch campus in Kona named Hawai‘i Community College – Pālamanui that opened in Fall 2015. The Kō Education Center (KōEC), formerly called the North Hawai'i Education and Research Center, was acquired from UH Hilo in 2019 and provides access to educational opportunities and facilities for the North Hawai'i community. KōEC is located in Honoka'a.
Hawaiʻi Community College embraces the concept of Kauhale that traditionally means the Hawaiian village. Kauhale is an ʻohana of administrators, faculty, staff, students, their families, and the Hawaiʻi Island community that contributes measurably to the success of our college's mission and outcomes. Kauhale maximizes the "community" in our mission through dialogue, planning, innovation, and assessment across traditional college divisions and units. Kauhale enables all members of the college ʻohana to recognize and celebrate our own individual skills, knowledge, and experiences as well as the skills, knowledge, and experiences of others. Kauhale unites all components of Hawaiʻi Community College into an "academic village without walls" for the overall success of our learners, the learners' communities and their families, in the spirit of E ʻImi Pono (seeking excellence).
Learn about our Mission, Vision and Institutional Outcomes.
Learn about UH Community College System's and Hawai`i Community College's Strategic Plans.
The University of Hawai‘i (UH) system includes 10 campuses and educational, training and research centers across the Hawaiian Islands. As the public system of higher education in Hawai‘i, UH offers unique and diverse opportunities. Of the 10 campuses, the 7 community colleges (including Hawai‘i CC) make up the University of Hawai‘i Community College (UHCC) system.
Learn more about the organization of Hawaiʻi CC and see where you are located in the campus organizational chart.
The interests of students, faculty, and staff are represented by three separate and equally important bodies that participate in the shared governance (pdf) of the college.
Hawaiʻi Community College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. For updated information regarding the latest accreditation process, visit our accreditation webpage.
To learn more about accreditation, please go through this online orientation module developed by ACCJC.
In addition to the College's overall accreditation, several Hawaii CC programs programs are also accredited by professional organizations:
Culinary Arts is accredited by the American Culinary Federation Foundation, Inc Accrediting Commission (ACFFAC)
Associate of Science in Nursing is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
Children’s Center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)