The University of Hawaii at Hilo has been put on notice by its accreditor, which has threatened to impose sanctions if the university doesn’t shape up its Hawaiian-language doctoral program and make other changes, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, a local newspaper, reported. The Ph.D. program, created in 2006, was the country’s first doctoral program in indigenous-language studies.

In a letter dated June 30, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges found fault with the program’s lack of a published curriculum, insufficient faculty members, and potentially problematic practice of appointing four of the five doctoral students in the program as professors within the College of Hawaiian Language.

Kalena Silva, the college’s director, told the newspaper that with such a new and unique program, a few hitches were to be expected, but that the university already had plans to publish its degree requirements and hire three additional faculty members. “We’re not surprised WASC would raise some of these concerns, perhaps not considering that the program is new and the field is new,” said Mr. Silva.

The accrediting agency said that the college needed to clarify its oversight structure “immediately” and that an accrediting team would visit in the fall of 2009 to make sure the university had made good on that effort. —Paula Wasley