The Hawaii State Department of Education lists the Personal Transition Plan (PTP) as a requirement for all high school graduates. Board of Education Policy 102-15 lists the Personal/Transition Plan as 0.5 credit within the 24 credits required for a diploma. The Department describes it as each student's plan of action to transition from high school to college and/or careers.

The challenge: a plan without exploration

Department guidelines say the plan should be initiated as each student enters high school and reviewed periodically by the student, school staff and a parent or guardian. So the PTP is meant to grow over several years. That only works when students have real options to write about. A student who has never looked closely at a college, a trade program or a career can still complete the PTP, but the result reads like a form and not a plan.

What students tell us

Across the 13th Year™ network, students are most open early, and their options narrow as graduation gets closer:

  • 32%of 9th graders are weighing more than one path after high school. By 12th grade, 16% are.
  • 53%of 9th graders are interested in more than one career field, compared with 33% of seniors.
  • 11%of 9th graders say they are not sure yet what comes next. Only 2% of seniors say so.
  • 23%of students planning on college are also considering another path, such as the skilled trades, the military, work or a business of their own.

For planning, that means the most valuable exploration happens in the first years of high school, while students are still open to what they find.

Figures come from more than 3,800 responses students submitted at 13th Year™ kiosks and school links across the 13th Year™ network in 2026, not only Hawaii schools. Students could choose more than one answer, and some responded more than once.

Dual enrollment

Dual enrollment in Hawaii

Hawaii law creates a dual credit program in the Department of Education that permits eligible students to enroll in qualified University of Hawaii system courses. The University of Hawaii describes two main options: Early College, a partnership between the Hawaii State Department of Education and the University of Hawaii in which students take college classes with their high school peers, and Running Start, in which students take courses at University of Hawaii campuses or online with other college students. According to the University of Hawaii, Early College classes are free of charge to participating Hawaii DOE students, while Running Start students pay tuition for the courses they take.

Students who explore careers and interests early, for example through daily exploration on a 13th Year™ kiosk, can choose dual enrollment courses that build toward a specific goal instead of collecting unrelated credits.

Official program information: Hawaii State Department of Education and the University of Hawaii System →

What students need before the planning meeting

The most productive planning conversations happen when a student walks in with something to talk about: a career they read about, a program that surprised them, a question about the military or an apprenticeship. That kind of curiosity comes from exposure, and exposure works best when it is frequent, self-directed and part of the school day.

Practical ways to build exploration into the year

  • Start exploration when the PTP starts. The plan begins as students enter high school, so give ninth graders an easy way to look at colleges, trades, military service and careers before they set their first goals.
  • Show both college and careers. The Department describes the PTP as a plan of action to move from high school to college and/or careers. Make sure students can explore a wide range of each before they commit a direction to the PTP.
  • Revisit the plan with new information. Department guidelines call for periodic review. Ask students to update their PTP after they explore something new, so the plan that earns the 0.5 credit reflects choices they have actually examined.
  • Make exploration self-serve. Let students explore on their own time, so counselor time goes to the conversations that need it.

Where the Student Pathway System™ goes

13th Year™ places an interactive college and career kiosk in a school's hallway, a modern guidance resource students use before, during and after school. Students can explore colleges, skilled trades, military service, scholarships and careers on their own time, then bring what they find into their Personal Transition Plan. It supports, and does not replace, the PTP process and school counselors.

For administrators, the questions are usually privacy and workload. The 13th Year™ platform is FERPA aligned and designed with student privacy considerations in mind. It does not access the high school's student information system, and no student data is sold. Kiosks come at no cost to the school, and 13th Year™ delivers, installs and supports every kiosk, so it is built to support your counselors, not burden them.

See how 13th Year™ supports Hawaii high schools, or request a kiosk for your school.