Posted on: Saturday, March 19, 2005

EDITORIAL
Residency changes must keep diversity

More often than not around the country, establishing residency for higher education purposes is no piece of cake. It usually entails working, paying taxes, rent, bills and generally contributing to the respective state's economy for a year.

Not in Hawai'i. For example, UH-Manoa undergraduate students simply complete their freshman year, and Abracadabra! Their tuition plummets from close to $5,000 per semester to roughly $1,750.

It's a bargain, but not for long. UH regents have tentatively approved a proposal that would make it more difficult for out-of-state students to establish residency.

Nonresidents would be unable to convert to residents if they are in Hawai'i primarily to attend college, are enrolled for six credits or more and are financially dependent on nonresident parents.

This might seem harsh, but not so much when you consider that Hawai'i residents studying in other states face the same, if not stricter, requirements.

As it is, the tuition collected from Hawai'i residents doesn't come close to covering the cost of education. And taxpayers can't be expected to subsidize students whose parents don't live or pay taxes here.

That said, we must find ways, such as financial aid, so out-of-state students won't be driven away. To keep our campuses vibrant and cosmopolitan, rather than a provincial backwater where everyone knows each other, we need diversity. Any proposal from UH regents must balance these seemingly conflicting needs.