New technology platforms approved for student support at all University of Hawaiʻi campuses

The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents has approved a $7.4 million, five-year subscription to EAB Navigate360 and EAB Edify, two integrated technology platforms designed to improve student results at the 10 UH campuses.

The investment will serve as a cornerstone of a new, systemwide student-success initiative aimed at closing achievement gaps and improving student retention and timely graduation rates.

“These platforms leverage data we already collect but have never been able to connect in a way that provides a truly comprehensive view of each student’s journey and how best to support them along the way,” UH President Wendy Hensel said.

She said the platforms have shown significant returns on investment at more than 850 institutions nationwide, with reported increases of up to 15% in graduation and retention rates.

The implementation will be in phases starting this year, with full adoption expected by 2026. The platforms use predictive models built on historical student data to proactively alert faculty, advisors and support staff at the earliest signs of risk.

The goal is to provide support the moment it is needed, and not months later when it is likely to be too late to be effective. Most of the interventions will occur even before students are aware they may need help.

For example, the system may detect that a specific combination of courses often leads to lower completion rates and can prompt advisors and students to adjust schedules before the semester begins. It also can flag students who haven’t accessed their online courses during the first two weeks, a key early indicator of disengagement, and send automatic reminders or alerts.

The platforms will give UH the ability to deliver consistent, equitable and proactive support to all students, regardless of which campus they attend.

“This marks a major step forward in our commitment to student success,” said Kim Siegenthaler, senior advisor to Hensel, who will be in charge of implementing the platforms. “By modernizing and integrating our technology infrastructure, we can establish a consistent standard of care for every student across UH. These tools will help us identify challenges earlier, respond more effectively and empower students to thrive.”

Hensel and Siegenthaler saw the technology’s impact firsthand during their time at Georgia State University. That university partnered with EAB, which started by analyzing 2.5 million student grades collected over a decade to identify the factors most strongly associated with academic difficulty and potential financial issues. The predictive model that was developed flagged students likely to struggle, resulting in proactive interventions that included one-on-one advising, tutoring and other academic and financial support services.

“One of the most powerful aspects of what was accomplished at GSU, and what we intend to replicate at UH, is that the system was proactive, not punitive,” Hensel said. “It helped resolve issues like course misregistration, financial aid delays or academic disengagement before negatively impacting the student and their progress toward graduation. A key to its success was the close collaboration among faculty, advisors and student support teams.”

Navigate360 is a comprehensive Student Success Management System developed specifically for higher education to enhance communication, streamline advising and registration processes and foster academic success.

Features include:

• “Population Health Analytics” based on academic risk signals and key performance indicators. These indicators include credit completion rate, semester and cumulative grade point average, course withdrawals and failing grades, engagement with advisors, attendance and participation records, and first-year milestones.
  • First-year milestones include: successfully completing gateway courses, earning enough credits to stay on pace for four-year graduation, maintaining a GPA of 2.0 or higher, declaring a major or making academic progress in a chosen pathway, participating in orientation or first-year experience programs and establishing advising or support connections.
• “Predictive Scoring” that uses learning algorithms to analyze historical student data to identify the factors most strongly associated with success or risk, and helps pinpoint students who may be at risk in a specific course, major or of not graduating.
• “Study Buddies” to connect students enrolled in the same classes to support collaboration.
• Automated alerts for faculty and advisors as soon as student attendance or performance begins to decline.

Complementing Navigate360, Edify is a data management platform specifically built for higher education. It integrates data from multiple sources — such as academic performance, financial aid and student services — into a centralized system. This addresses long-standing issues with data silos and enables campus leaders to make more informed, data-driven decisions.

Together, Navigate360 and Edify are expected to provide the University of Hawaiʻi with a powerful platform for holistic student insights and outreach, improved operational efficiency and coordinated student support across all 10 campuses.

“This is more than a technology upgrade, it’s a commitment to every student’s success,” Hensel said. “We’re building a culture where data-informed decision making is the foundation for meaningful, measurable change.”

The Board of Regents approved the subscription at its June 16 meeting. More information is available in the meetingʻs agenda and materials.