William Akama has lived his whole life in Wai'anae and has been a part of an effort to expand the reach of higher education to an area of the state the University of Hawai'i has identified as the most in need of post-secondary education opportunities.

As coordinator of Leeward Community College's Wai'anae Education Center since 2004, Akama has seen firsthand how the small, four-classroom facility has helped change lives.

But its reach is limited, with only about 900 students enrolled on average each year, so Akama would like to see more training and degree opportunities brought to residents in his community.

"If LCC-Wai'anae wasn't here, there would be so many people who wouldn't have the opportunity to get some kind of higher education," he said. "So many of our students tell us that there is just no way they could get on a bus and go to Manoa, or even LCC (in Pearl City)."

Betty Kalaau, a 69-year-old resident of Nanakuli and a student at LCC-Wai'anae, recalled how difficult it was for her to go to college when she was younger.

"I started when I had my family. I was interested in nursing, but it didn't pan out. Having a family and going to school, I couldn't do it," she said.

Kalaau recently decided to go back to school upon realizing the opportunities available at LCC-Wai'anae.

"It's easier to come to Wai'anae than to drive to LCC," Kalaau said. She said a lot of the students in Wai'anae wouldn't even be able to go to LCC or any other college considered too far away.

"A lot of the college students here are a little younger than me, but some are single parents, parents with kids in school, people working. How are they going to do it?" she said.

A study done by the University of Hawai'i to identify the state's higher education needs over the next decade — UH's Second Decade Project — confirms Akama's perception that the Leeward Coast has a need for post-secondary education. In fact, the study found Wai'anae has the greatest need for higher education.

About two out of every 10 high school graduates on the Wai'anae Coast move on to a public community college or university in Hawai'i — the worst college-enrollment rate in the state. Nearly half of the Wai'anae population has only a high school diploma, compared with East O'ahu, where the majority of the population has more than a high school education, according to the project.

That has UH officials seeking ways to reach out to Leeward O'ahu, where the population is also expected to more than double over the next 15 years, according to UH.

On UH's list of budget priorities is construction of a four-year university campus in West O'ahu and the expansion of LCC's Wai'anae Education Center.

It will take a large initiative, such as a UH-West O'ahu campus, to change the educational landscape of the Leeward side, and that could take years.

But expanding the Wai'anae facility would quickly double the number of students who can be served, to about 2,000 a year.

UH is requesting about $5 million to expand the LCC-Wai'anae facility. The money would allow the university to purchase the building where LCC-Wai'anae currently rents about 7,000 square feet of space. By buying the facility, the center would be able to expand to the rest of the building — doubling its space — and its ability to reach more students, Akama said.

TOO FAR TO TRAVEL

Part of the problem is that not much is available on the Leeward Coast in the way of higher education, said Linda Johnsrud, UH vice president for academic planning and policy.

Leeward Community College and UH-Manoa are often too far away for impoverished students living in Wai'anae or the North Shore, she said, and UH-West O'ahu still has a small presence with about 900 students taking classes on the LCC campus it shares.

"Geographical access is important. If people have to go very far, it's simply harder," Johnsrud said. "Right now, for someone living out in Wai'anae, their only real alternative for a bachelor's degree is to get on a bus or in a car and come in to Manoa. That's a big effort."

Gene Awakuni, chancellor of UH-West O'ahu, agrees.

"The Leeward area is definitely underserved. ... There's not much of a presence," Awakuni said.

"We want to raise the number of students that consider college an option," Awakuni said. "We think it has something to do with cost, proximity, access and a sense that college isn't for them."

A four-year UH-West O'ahu campus is expected to eventually serve about 7,600 students.

But money for construction has not been forthcoming from the Legislature, and even the UH Board of Regents has questioned whether the project can remain on track.

In July, regents pushed back to 2009 the anticipated completion date for the project's first phase.

Awakuni believes that having a stand-alone UH-West O'ahu campus would make more students consider college an option since they would have opportunities "in their own backyard."

"You need to be near a place to believe that you can aspire to get a college degree," Awakuni said.

That fact is mirrored in the university's Second Decade study, which found that only about 10 percent of 25- to 64-year-olds in Wai'anae have at least a bachelor's degree, compared with 36 percent of the population in East O'ahu.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.