The University of Hawaii's Board of Regents approved yesterday a proposal to raise dormitory room rates between 15 percent and 20 percent over the next three years at the university's Manoa and Hilo campuses. UH regents approve dormitory
room rate increasesThe money will cover upgrades to
housing at Hilo and ManoaBy Janis L. Magin
Associated PressThe university plans to use the extra money to pay for installing cable television, telephone and Internet services in the dormitories at both campuses and to pay for increased utility and staff costs, according to Paul Costello, vice president for external affairs.
"The raise is going to a number of things, but the bottom line is to get the dormitories up to 21st-century standards," Costello said.
Students at the Manoa campus on Oahu, where 3,000 students live in eight residence halls and two apartment buildings, have not seen dormitory rates increase since 1998. Hilo, with three residence halls and an apartment building, has not had a rate increase since 1996.
The student association at Hilo gave unanimous support to the increase, while students at the Manoa campus voiced no opposition, Costello said.
"I think that there's a recognition that it's a good deal for the students with the upgrade, and it's something that was critical and necessary for the university," Costello said.
Rates at the Manoa campus, where the rate for each student in a double room starts at $2,089 per year, will rise 5 percent this fall and another 5 percent each year through fall 2004. With the increase the double room rate will be $2,193 next year, according to Darryl Zehner, director of housing at Manoa. The rate for a single room will go to $3,290 from $3,133, he said.
Apartment rates at the Manoa campus will go up to $3,981 per person from $3,791 for a one-bedroom, and to $3,063 per person for a two-bedroom apartment from $2,917, Zehner said.
At Hilo, where some 620 students live in four buildings on campus, the increase will pay for both major renovations and cosmetic changes as well as telephone and Internet connections, said Miles Nagata, director of housing.
The rates for the Hilo campus will rise 10 percent this fall and 5 percent in each of the next two years.
A double room in a residence hall at Hilo will go up to $1,520 a year from $1,382 the first year, and a single room will go up to $2,282 a year from $2,074.
The campus has started addressing renovations to the buildings, but long-delayed maintenance cannot be done without the increase, the university said.
"It's an ongoing process. As your physical plant ages, it requires more and more maintenance," Nagata said.
University of Hawaii
