Posted on: Thursday, October 10, 2002

Hawai'i model for new Asian colleges

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

Beginning Monday, 28 Thai educators will settle into desks at Honolulu Community College to learn how to manage and administer their country's new 10-school community college system, based on the U.S. and Hawai'i model.

The effort, spearheaded by leaders of the University of Hawai'i's community college system, will have a lasting effect on educating Thailand's rural work force.

The effort began before the university's strategic plan was formed, but it fit a broad philosophy at the university that calls for strengthening ties between Hawai'i and ASEAN nations, and could lead to broad new joint programs and even financial support from governments in those Southeast Asian countries.

Officials said the community college initiative offers a perfect example of how such cooperation can offer tremendous mutual benefits.

"These are mainly administrators coming, and community leaders who will support their colleges in their communities," said Beng Poh Yoshikawa, director of international affairs and development at Honolulu Community College.

"They've seen how community colleges in the U.S. have been responsive to community and work force development need, so that's one of the primary reasons they want the U.S. model."

Yoshikawa and Joyce Tsunoda, chancellor for Community Colleges, went to Thailand in fall 2000 to broach the idea.

At a followup Thai-U.S. forum in Honolulu in March, the East-West Community College Project Consortium was born.

The group, which includes several Mainland community college systems as well as the Thai Ministry of Education, is the supporting body that helps organize training sessions.

A similar outreach program is taking place in Malaysia. This week, a Malaysian delegation is completing a visit to Hawai'i's community colleges to explore a partnership.

"Malaysians tend to turn to the UK and Australia, and I made a pitch when I was there in July for them to come to our colleges," Yoshikawa said. "They were not planning to come to Hawai'i, but they arrived Monday and we put together a coordinated program for them to visit every community college on O'ahu. At the end of their visit, we'll talk about possible collaborations."

Malaysia plans to develop 93 community colleges within the next five years, and has begun 17 of them, said HCC spokeswoman Karen Hastings. Often they convert existing technical or vocational schools into expanded community colleges. That's how Thailand was able to get 10 schools running within a year, Yoshikawa said.

The community college project was one subject of discussion on a recent Asia trip that took UH President Evan Dobelle, Tsunoda and several top UH administrators to Asia for talks with university officials in five countries.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.