The University of Hawaii (UH) earned an inaugural Education Experience Award from the Center for Digital Education for its STAR GPS application, which helps students navigate their path to graduation.
The awards recognize projects that improve educational experiences, support student learning, and expand access to services across K-12 and higher education. The university announced the recognition in an Oct. 27 press release.
The university developed the application to create a personalized, semester-by-semester academic pathway for each student across the university’s 10 campuses. When students change their plans, the application automatically recalculates their route to graduation and shows how those changes affect their degree pathway.
STAR GPS helps students distinguish between courses that meet degree requirements and those they choose for personal enrichment, according to Windward Community College counselor Sarah Akina.
The application’s development reflects an effort to create a shared solution that accommodates all UH students, according to Gary Rodwell, the university’s information technology manager who led its development.
“One of STAR’s greatest strengths is its ability to balance campus individuality with systemwide oneness,” Rodwell said.
The campuses serve different communities, academic missions, and student populations, Rodwell said.
The university described a collaborative development approach that brought students, staff, faculty, and administrators across campuses together to develop the shared solution. The university said this approach, combined with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, accelerates development and helps teams respond more quickly to changing needs.
The Center for Digital Education, a research and advisory institute focused on education technology, recognized initiatives at six universities. Its awards recognize schools and community colleges that are making exceptional gains in transforming education and improving learning with effective technology use.
