How the University of Hawaii budget fares at the state Capitol is one of several factors that will determine how much tuition could go up at the 10 UH campuses, UH President M.R.C. Greenwood said yesterday after giving a first-ever State of the University speech before a joint session of the Legislature.

Greenwood did not talk about tuition in her speech. But at a news conference afterward, the UH president said she will begin talking with the Board of Regents about a new tuition schedule in time for it to be approved next year.

The current six-year tuition increase ends in the summer of 2012 and Greenwood said she wants to make sure students and parents know how much an education will cost them.

It's not clear yet what will happen with tuition, Greenwood said, noting that the university is trying to cut expenses and become more efficient and that it's too early to know what the savings from those efforts will be.

State tax spending, she said, also accounts for the majority of the university's funding.

“;We need a partnership with the state,”; Greenwood said. “;They helped us build the university. Many people depend on the university. We are critical to the state's future.”;

In her speech yesterday, Greenwood proposed three initiatives to help the state's economy by increasing the number of UH graduates by 25 percent, improving the research enterprise at the university and repairing aging buildings.

UH wants to increase the number of people graduating from the 10 campuses each year to 10,507 in 2015, an increase of 2,423 students from last year's graduating class.

“;The Hawaii Graduation Initiative will focus on access, affordability and student success,”; Greenwood said. “;Simply put, we want more local students to attend and graduate from UH.”;

She also suggested research at UH and businesses that are spun off from UH research could grow to a multibillion-dollar industry. She said she will appoint a Presidential Advisory Group of Experts to study and advise the university on improving its research efforts and technology transfers.

The UH president also proposed that the university pay for some of the interest on state bonds for construction projects to help reduce an estimated $368 million repair and maintenance backlog.

Greenwood said fixing UH buildings would create jobs in the construction industry and help the university recover more money from overhead costs built into research grants.

Lawmakers were generally positive in their reactions to the speech.

“;She has an ambitious goal of increasing graduates by 2015,”; said House Higher Education Chairman Jerry Chang. “;I think she has the guts and determination to at least attempt it.”;

Senate Higher Education Chairwoman Jill Tokuda called the proposal for UH to pay for some of the cost of rebuilding the campuses “;innovative.”;

But she said there would likely be further discussion about what the university's share of the costs should be.

House Speaker Calvin Say was cautious in his remarks after the speech.

“;We realize in this time of fiscal constraint, the challenges to higher education and Hawaii's university system are formidable,”; Say said. “;However, we must also remember that if we sacrifice Hawaii's future for the requirements of today, we sacrifice greatness for the sake of mediocrity.”;

———

On the Net:

» For a transcript of UH President M.R.C. Greenwood's speech, click here.