UH tuition waivers set
to increase under plan

The move would offset
proposed tuition increases

University of Hawaii officials plan to quadruple tuition waivers so needy students are not priced out of a college education by tuition increases, said interim President David McClain.

The UH forgoes about $5 million in tuition per year through financial aid for low-income students, but that amount would increase to $20 million under the tuition plan, McClain said.

The proposal was offered even though officials do not anticipate a drop in enrollment should the Board of Regents approve tuition increases that would more than double undergraduate tuition at the four-year campuses by 2011. The proposed increase would raise UH's community college tuition by 81 percent.

The UH gives up about $42 million in tuition per year for graduate and undergraduate students, McClain said yesterday at an editorial board session of the Star-Bulletin. Students who do not qualify for tuition waivers under the current level of tuition might qualify under the proposed schedule, McClain said.

The UH system has enjoyed double-digit enrollment increases the past few years, and McClain said he expects the trend to continue.

The economy, rather than the cost of tuition, affects enrollment, said Linda Johnsrud, UH interim vice president for planning and policy. Enrollment usually goes up when the economy is bad and goes down when the economy is good. UH enrollment continues to rise despite a strong economy, she said.

McClain presented the proposed tuition increases to the Board of Regents last week. Under the plan, full-time resident undergraduate tuition will increase $432 per year at UH-Manoa starting this fall, $288 per year at UH-Hilo, $264 per year at UH-West Oahu and $120 at the community colleges. A UH-Manoa student will pay $1,752 per semester in the 2005-06 school year.

Nonresident tuition for full-time undergraduates at UH-Manoa will go up $1,188 per year.

Tuition for graduate and professional programs will also rise. The annual increase is $552 for residents and $1,416 for nonresidents.

The goal of the plan is to eventually charge resident students at UH's four-year schools 45 percent of the cost of their education and 22 percent at the community colleges -- comparable to what similar mainland institutions charge, McClain said. Current tuition pays for just 29 percent at UH-Manoa and 13 percent at the community colleges.

For nonresident students the tuition increases are aimed at charging them the full cost of their education.

The regents are expected to vote on the proposed plan by June, following public hearings.