Tuition hike at UH risks deterring enrollment

Tuition soared at the University of Hawaii over the past five years and is on track to do so again, following a dismaying national trend. The proposed increase will undoubtedly burden students throughout the UH system — and the UH Board of Regents must convince the public why the sharp increase is necessary.

The university system went through similar price increases five years ago, when the regents approved more than doubling annual tuition for resident undergraduate students from $3,504 to the current $8,400, raising the price by $408 every year.

The current proposal would increase tuition to $8,664 for next year — a relatively modest rise of $264 — but would increase to $11,376 for the 2016-17 school year, an average yearly hike of nearly $600.

Nonresident tuition would rise from the current $23,232 to $32,904, a 42 percent increase by 2016-17.

UH officials said that while Manoa undergraduates would pay $12,076 for tuition and fees in 2016-17, the national average is projected at $13,531.

Resident tuition at UH West Oahu would rise by 49 percent over five years, from the current $5,136 to $7,6546 in 2016-17.

Tuition for UH community college students would rise by $120 next year and peak at $3,971 for the 2016-17 year.

Students throughout the system will not necessarily get a bigger bang for their buck. While overall inflation in the country has risen by 107 percent since 1986, college tuition nationally rose by 467 percent, according to InflationData.com.

Various reasons generally cited included fuel and labor costs, and renovation or replacement of older buildings, all of which are considerations at the Manoa campus.

UH President M.R.C. Greenwood cited needs consistent with those expenses, including "upgrading our long-delayed repair and maintenance backlog, upgrade our business systems to better management enrollment and the need for classes and expand the degree offerings in fields that we know will offer good-paying jobs of the future."

Greenwood said in a statement on Thursday that the university suffered more than $86 million in cuts to its "core operating budget" over the last two years, an indication that UH conforms with the national expense trend.

Greenwood said the university "must continue to meet our obligation of making an affordable, high-quality college degree within the reach of Hawaii’s people.

"These increases, we believe, are reasonable and they were kept as low as possible in light of how Hawaii families are struggling financially in these times."

When UH proposed tuition increases six years ago, it said financial aid must go to low-income students who need some relief.

Greenwood said the university again will provide more financial aid to those students.

The university’s needs are hard to dispute, particularly regarding the buildings in need of renovation.

Still, every effort must be made to optimize the operating budget via creative methods like hybrid class facilities and strategic faculty retirements.

Otherwise, students who are ideal for the rigors of the flagship Manoa college, or even the other campuses, might well be priced out of higher learning.