Newswatch
By Star-Bulletin Staff
Friday, October 11, 1996
Of the total, $354 million is sought from state general funds.
UH officials are hoping legislators will adhere to a 1995 law, which sets the 1998 and 1999 operating budgets at 1994-95 state funding levels, which were higher than current funding.
Eugene Imai, UH senior vice president for administration, told regents Gov. Ben Cayetano has proposed $271.9 million in general funds for UH in each year of the next biennium. The amount is the same as this biennium but $88.8 million less than what is set by the law in Act 161.
Lawmakers could follow the law, change it or acquiesce to the governor's budget, making the upcoming legislative session a turning point for the university, UH President Kenneth P. Mortimer told regents, meeting at UH-Hilo.
The law allows the UH to keep tuition and fees raised and gives it fiscal autonomy in awarding tuition-assistance programs.
Dean Lawrence C. Foster said proposed law school tuition increases will raise the annual cost for residents from $4,800 this year to $9,072 in the year 2000. For nonresidents, the cost will rise from $8,194 to $15,576 over the same period.
The plan comes on the heels of a 100 percent tuition increase approved this spring that raised law tuition from $2,426 in 1995-96 to $4,800.
Foster said the proposed schedule calls for staggered tuition increases over the next three years so each new class of students would pay a tuition much higher than the previous class.
Each new class, he said, would see a 6 percent to 10 percent annual increase during their following two years in law school. "Eventually, by the time you get to the fiscal year 2001, everyone is paying the same tuition," Foster told the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, meeting at UH-Hilo.
Students who enter the law school in fall 1997 would pay $7,008 the first year, $7,704 the second year and $8,520 in their final year. Students enrolling in 1998, however, would pay $8,016 the first year, $8,520 the second and $9,072 the third.
The Aina Haina junior college, with an enrollment of about 200, said it will not accept new freshman students next March.
School officials said the decision was based on declining enrollment at junior colleges and a population decline for college-age youths in Japan.
All of Kansai Gaidai's students are Japanese high school graduates recruited through Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan.
The Hawaii college was established in 1977 by Kansai Gaidai University's founder, Takako Tanimoto.
A security officer at the Outrigger Village Hotel at 240 Lewers St. spotted a man setting fire to a convertible in the parking garage before 4 a.m. today, police said. The security officer put the fire out before firefighters arrived.
Another fire was reported at 2:34 a.m. today in a Dumpster behind the House of Hong at 260 Lewers St., fire officials said.
On Tuesday, three fires were reported in the same area.
A vacant building at 2128 Kalakaua Ave. sustained $5,000 damage from a blaze reported at 2:18 a.m. Less than two hours later, a laundry bin in the parking garage at the Outrigger Village just across the street was reported ablaze. Damage was estimated at $2,000.
A half-hour later, a stand that held menus for a seafood restaurant fronting the Outrigger Reef was set afire.
- 18-year-old surrenders in gang stabbing case
- Guman holds up branch of bank
- Youngsters injured jumping from truck