UH-Hilo wants one tuition rate
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
HILO, Hawai'i — Public hearings will be held throughout the state this month on a plan to charge a single tuition rate for students at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo.
Public hearings on the UH-Hilo single-tiered tuition proposal will be held: • Feb. 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Campus Center 307, UH-Manoa. • Feb. 26 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Campus Center 306-307, UH-Hilo. • Feb. 27 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center, Kaua'i Community College. • Feb. 28 from noon to 2 p.m. in Kalama Room 107, Maui Community College.
Freshmen and sophomores pay less than juniors and seniors under a system dating to when UH-Hilo and Hawai'i Community College were merged. The system was devised so students at the community college would pay the same tuition for courses from either campus.
Public hearings
The two-tiered tuition rates — unique in the UH system — were retained following the separation of the two institutions in 1992 to accommodate students transferring from the community college to UH-Hilo and vice versa, according to John Whittaker, vice chancellor for administrative affairs.
A new computer billing system used by all UH campuses makes it necessary to switch to a simpler, uniform tuition rate, Whittaker said. It's also an opportunity for the university to increase revenue from tuition, he said.
The higher rate for freshmen and sophomores, which would go into effect in the fall semester, would apply only to new students, and not those enrolled at UH-Hilo.
"It's a way to increase tuition revenue without impacting existing students, and with the new student information system it's almost a necessity," Whittaker said.
The UH Board of Regents approved a separate proposal for tuition increases for UH-Hilo's 3,000-plus students that will go into effect in the fall. Those changes increase resident tuition for first- and second-year students from $804 per semester to $864, and tuition for upper-level students from $1,164 to $1,188.
Out-of-state tuition will rise from $3,612 per semester to $3,672 for freshmen and sophomores, and from $3,948 to $3,972 for juniors and seniors.
Under the new tuition proposal, all students would pay the rate approved for upper-level students: $1,188 for residents and $3,972 for out-of-state students.
