Regents Approve Tuition Hike for UH Students
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents on Wednesday approved raising tuition incrementally over the next five years for all students.
Next year’s price for one full-time semester at UH Manoa will be $4,332, and it will continue going up. It’s now $4,200 a semester.
Undergraduates from Hawaii will pay an average of 5.8 percent more per year at UH Manoa, and non-resident undergrads will face a 7 percent increase each year.
The first year’s dollar amount increases (per semester) will be:
- $132 at UH Manoa
- $120 at UH Hilo
- $60 at the community colleges
- $228 for UH West Oahu, which has to deal with start-up costs
The dollar amount increases in 2016-2017 will be:
- $396 at UH Manoa
- $264 at UH Hilo
- $120 at the community colleges
- $264 at UH West Oahu
Graduate students at Manoa will pay an average of 6.4 percent more per year.
Annual Tuition Increases In Percentages
| Year | Undergrad Res. | Undergrad Non-Res. | Grad Res. | Grad Non-Res. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-2013 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| 2013-2014 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| 2014-2015 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 2015-2016 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 2016-2017 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
NOTE: See the full five-year tuition schedule .
University officials know cost hikes may pose a hardship for some, but said they are necessary. While the university’s budget has shrunk, its enrollment has grown to a record 60,000 students 鈥 a 23 percent increase over the last decade.
Meanwhile, faculty salaries had to be restored to pre-recession levels this year under union contracts negotiated in 2009. The university did not receive the $12 million it requested from the legislature to help do that, and its John A. Burns School of Medicine also lost $4 million per year in tobacco settlement money from the state.
鈥淭his has been one of the toughest issues we have taken on in our service as Regents,鈥 UH Board of Regents Chair Eric Martinson said in a press release. 鈥淲e are well aware of the economic struggle that many Hawai鈥榠 families are experiencing. We made this decision with the best interests of Hawai鈥榠’s citizens and our only public higher education institution in mind, and with the certainty that accompanying increased financial aid and outreach counseling will continue to make a college degree accessible to all who desire it.鈥
