UH budget proposal
in worksThe UH president vows to consult
with faculty, students and regents
before presenting the plan
University of Hawaii administrators are preparing a financial plan, including tuition increases, that could be presented to the Board of Regents in September, acting UH President David McClain said.
McClain told the board at its monthly meeting yesterday that a draft systemwide budget proposal for the next six years would be submitted to the governor this fall. He did not say how much of a tuition increase is being considered, but promised to consult with students, faculty and regents before bringing the proposal to the board for approval.
Any tuition increase, McClain said, must be accompanied by an increase in financial aid.
The acting president also told the board that he is reviewing the UH system administration, which has been criticized by faculty as being too expensive. McClain compared the current administration to a big suit of clothes, saying it might need to be tailored down.
McClain also said the accrediting body for the University of Hawaii-Manoa, UH-West Oahu and UH-Hilo has deferred action on a critical report on the UH system and the governance of the university until February. The report said problems between the Board of Regents and former President Evan Dobelle threaten the accreditation of the UH schools.
In a letter dated July 9, the senior commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges said it is hoping to send a team to visit the university this fall to assess the impact of the change in leadership at the UH system. Dobelle was fired June 15, just before the WASC meeting to discuss the report.
WASC will also return to UH-Manoa in the fall of 2005 for a progress report.
Regents also gave back authority to the administration for hiring and other personnel actions unless the salary for new hires is above the median and salaries are raised above the 60th percentile of a survey of comparable positions. Regents said the move reflected the board's confidence in the administration.
Regents also disbanded several task groups and gave authority back to the administration.
In other action yesterday, the board:
» Approved the hiring of Kamehameha Schools executive Rockne Freitas as chancellor at Hawaii Community College. Freitas, currently vice president and executive director of the Ke Ali'i Pauahi Foundation, starts Aug. 3. He is also a former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee and professional football player. The salary for the job is between $99,000 and $126,000.
» Approved in concept the starting of a process to find a private developer to build a new Cancer Research Center in Kakaako next to the medical school building.
» Approved higher admission fees for the Waikiki Aquarium. The aquarium proposed reducing its proposed fee increases for children ages 5 to 17 to $2 from the original $4 to address board concerns about the cost. The regents had suggested reducing the fees just for kids 5 to 12, but the aquarium said it would be easier to have one fee for children rather than two.
» Heard from the UH Foundation that $25.9 million in donations was collected by the end of the fiscal year, ahead of last year but short of this year's goal of $30 million. However, UH Foundation President Donna Vuchinich said at least two large donations are expected in the first quarter of the new fiscal year.
In response to a question, Vuchinich said fund raising has not been affected so far by the firing of Dobelle, although she said some donors were upset about the way he was fired.