A Board of Regents subcommittee is recommending that the University of Hawaii take in more out-of-state students as a way to increase revenue and enhance UH's reputation.

In a memo, the task group of five regents suggests the board consider raising the enrollment cap on nonresident undergraduate students to 35 percent from 30 percent at the Manoa campus and a three-year pilot project at UH-Hilo that allows for 40 percent of undergraduate students to be from out of state.

Nonresident undergraduate tuition at UH-Manoa is $18,816, compared with resident tuition of $6,768 for an academic year.

“;Tuition revenues have become increasingly important during the current fiscal crisis,”; the group wrote to the full board. “;The university must be prepared to maximize every alternative revenue source.”;

Both the Hilo and Manoa campuses have regularly exceeded the 30 percent cap in recent years. At the same time, no qualified Hawaii resident has been denied admission, administrators said.

Based on that, the group said raising the cap should have no impact on resident enrollment.

The memo also suggests that out-of-state demand for UH programs might enhance the university's reputation among local students.

“;The attraction of nonresident students also speaks to the quality and outreach reputation of UH,”; the memo said. “;Moreover, the mix of out-of-state students with local students enriches the educational experience for both.”;

The memo also recommends taking graduate and professional schools out of the enrollment cap calculations and allowing each graduate program to seek its own balance of local and nonresident students.

The Hanakahi Native Hawaiian Council at UH-Hilo passed a resolution urging the regents to keep and enforce the current cap. The council, made up of native Hawaiian faculty, staff and students, also suggests regents take a closer look at student exchange programs and nonresident tuition.

The task group memo also suggests setting nonresident tuition at market rates equal to the average of other Western states or the national average for out-of-state tuition. It also recommends limiting the number of nonresidents who participate in student exchange programs. Those students pay 150 percent of resident tuition, rather than full nonresident tuition.

At present there are more out-of-state students coming to Hawaii under the exchange programs than Hawaii students who go to the mainland.

At its meeting on Thursday, which took place on Maui, the board deferred discussion on the enrollment recommendations until the Feb. 18 meeting at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Linda Johnsrud, UH system vice president for planning and policy, said there needs to be a balance between recruiting out-of-state and local students.

“;Our campuses are absolutely committed to going after residents, but when money gets short there's an incentive to go after nonresident students,”; Johnsrud said.

It will be up to the administration to make sure that campuses continue to vigorously recruit local students, she said. In implementing any policy change, the university also has to make sure UH does not lose revenue if out-of-state students decide to go elsewhere.

“;You never compromise your mission, but you try to maximize your revenues in order to support your mission,”; Johnsrud said.

  UH Enrollment Is At A Record High

 

People are doing everything they can to become more competitive in the shrinking job market.

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Enrollment continues to increase to record high

The University of Hawaii reports opening enrollment for the 10-campus system for the spring 2010 semester was 55,761 students.

That is the highest spring enrollment in UH history. Spring enrollment has now increased for the third year in a row with all campuses showing increases.

The 2009 fall semester enrollment of about 58,000 was the highest ever for the UH system.

UH Vice President for Academic Planning and Policy Linda Johnsrud said the record high enrollment shows people continue to turn to higher education as a way to improve themselves and their opportunities during difficult economic times.

UH provides “;an excellent education at a great value,”; she said.

— Associated Press