Campus Name

UH West Oʻahu opened in 1976 as an upper-division institution known as West Oʻahu College. It formally changed its name to the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu in 1989. It first began admitting freshmen in 2007 and opened its new, permanent campus in Kapolei in 2012. It is imperative to consistently use the proper name of our campus to aid our community in appreciating our roots while embracing our current and future status.

Our name

Refer to the University name correctly. Use the full campus name on first reference. University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu contains an en dash. In subsequent references, the acronym form (UH) may be used, and you may refer to the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu as: UH West Oʻahu, West Oʻahu, the West Oʻahu campus. In general use the acronyms only as adjectives; the acronym for UH West Oʻahu (UHWO) should never be used in external communications (except in certain situations on social media).

University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu

Don’t apply extra spacing

University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu

Don’t use ‘at’

University of Hawaiʻi at West Oʻahu

UH West Oʻahu

UHWO

How to type the en dash

When writing “University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu” you should use the en dash without spaces between “University of Hawaiʻi” and “West Oʻahu.” It’s important to use the en dash (–) and not the hyphen (-) to properly follow the University of Hawai‘i System Style Guide.

To write the en dash correctly, you must do the following:

For Mac users

Graphic that defines pressing the option and dash key simultaneously.

Hold down the option key and type the hyphen key.

For PC users

Graphic that defines pressing the alt and typing 0150.

On a regular-size keyboard with a number keypad, hold down the Alt key and type 0150.

Graphic that defines pressing the control and dash key simultaneously.

Or when using Microsoft Word, hold down the Ctrl and the hyphen key.

Our boilerplate

The UH West Oʻahu boilerplate is standard language used to describe the university. The UH West Oʻahu boilerplate may be used by all units on the campus.

Established in 1976, the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu is an indigenous-serving institution that offers quality education, small class sizes, and personalized attention. UH West Oʻahu has the newest bachelor’s degree-granting campus in the University of Hawaiʻi System, serving more than 3,000 students with academic programs that emphasize transdisciplinary studies while developing 21st century leaders. For more information, visit westoahu.hawaii.edu or call (808) 689-2800. (Rev. 2018).