Finishing Strong: GPA and Timely College Graduation Outcomes among Native Hawaiian STEM Majors

We examine GPA and timely graduation among Native Hawaiian (NH) students using a unique dataset of bachelor degree recipients from the University of Hawai'i. Our findings indicate that NHs have lower average GPA at graduation and the differences persist across the entire distribution of GPA. More troubling were the larger differences in GPA between NHs and their fellow student STEM majors. We find that where students attend high school matters for STEM majors, whereas NHs in non-STEM majors take statistically longer graduate than their peers, regardless of their high school. More comprehensive research is imperative to understand these disparities, including how they translate into labor force outcomes and earnings.