Appropriates funds for the University of Hawaii related to the school of nursing, campus security, utilities, the colleges of arts and sciences, the college of natural sciences, Hamilton library, student-run television, and native Hawaiian initiatives. (HB3160 HD1)

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the University of Hawaii at Manoa is a premier research institution whose scholars are leaders in their disciplines and whose students are prepared for leadership roles in our society.

The University of Hawaii at Manoa offers eighty-six bachelor's degrees, eighty-six masters degrees and fifty-two doctoral degrees, including law, medicine and architecture. The University of Hawaii at Manoa's students, currently numbering over twenty thousand, have special opportunities for Asian, Pacific, and Hawaiian educational experiences and involvement in research, service learning, and co-curricular activities.

The legislature finds, however, that the University of Hawaii at Manoa has urgent needs that must be addressed a number of areas. First and foremost, the dramatic rise in utility costs has resulted in a cost overrun at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. To address this problem, the University of Hawaii at Manoa has assured the legislature that they are developing a sustainability program to be implemented in the near future. The legislature, however, finds that current utility cost overruns must be addressed immediately to prevent funds from being extracted from other areas of the University's operating budget.

Second, funding is needed for the colleges of arts and sciences of the University of Hawaii. The colleges of arts and sciences' advising program serves the entire University of Hawaii at Manoa campus. The current advisor to student ratio is 1:1,500, while the nationally recognized standard is 1:250. Eight and one-half (full-time equivalent) advisors will nearly double the size of the advising staff and will allow students to receive timely advice, expedite the graduation rate, and improve student retention. The goal of the colleges of arts and sciences is to actively advise every freshman and sophomore, every semester.

The colleges of arts and sciences also is responsible for the financial aid office, which serves the entire University of Hawaii at Manoa campus. The financial aid office is critically understaffed because of the loss of positions and increased enrollment. It is unable to meet federal compliance guidelines, which could lead to federal sanctions. The colleges of arts and sciences currently have eleven financial aid advisors who are currently trying to meet the needs of nearly twenty-one thousand students. With the addition of six financial aid advisors, the colleges of arts and sciences can meet the needs of the students on a timely basis and meet the new federal guidelines.

The colleges of arts and sciences is also actively seeking to adopt and integrate information technology systems into the administration of the college. Information technology may eliminate the need for hiring a multitude of personnel to keep up with the growing campus population. This can be accomplished through automation of routine transactions, reducing paper flow, and providing superior web-based services that can be accessed by students through the MyUH Internet portal twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

By using Student Tracking and Academic Reporting, a software package being developed and tested by University of Hawaii at Manoa computer specialists, students will ultimately have access to better degree planning tools, financial aid information, and more transparent call scheduling options. Student Tracking and Academic Reporting is already used extensively by academic deans and departments to manage enrollment in real time and has greatly reduced students' difficulty in finding seats in high demand classes over the past academic year. More positions will allow the college to expand the use of these software technologies, further limiting the need for future staffing, reducing paper transactions, and providing direct support for student computing needs. Additional staff will also allow the college to integrate its financial and student management systems.

The colleges of arts and sciences are also seeking funding for approximately seventy-five classes staffed by part-time faculty and for six new faculty positions in areas experiencing the greatest enrollment growth. This is to directly address the loss of faculty that has occurred since 2000.

The college of languages, linguistics, and literature, one of four colleges within the colleges of arts and sciences, has lost twenty-one positions since 1999, and has lost approximately $350,000 in operating funds. Funds are especially needed in the departments of English, Chinese, and Japanese. The college of arts and humanities, also a college in the colleges of arts and sciences has lost twenty-five positions since 1999 and over $700,000 in operating funds since 2000. They have asked for additional assistance in history and art. The college of social sciences, also part of the colleges of arts and sciences has lost 10.25 faculty positions and over $2,600,000 since 1995 and has experienced tremendous growth in demand for psychology and social sciences classes.

Overall, arts and science units have lost 56.25 positions and $3,650,000 in their base budget while enrollment has grown fifty-five per cent.

Third, the legislature finds that the University of Hawaii at Manoa is currently facing a campus security staffing shortage due to military leave taken by security officers. Since September 11, 2001, campus security measures have been implemented that have required a substantial amount of time, money, and resources. In order to ensure the safety of faculty, staff, students, and other members of the university community, it is critical that more campus security officers are hired to continue these services on campus.

Fourth, the legislature finds a critical need for increased funding for the college of natural sciences. One in ten students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is majoring in a field in the college of natural sciences and since 1993, enrollment in the college has increased by sixty-six per cent. Funding, however, has decreased every year since 1999, forcing the college to cut positions, even as student enrollment increased. The college of natural sciences desperately needs to restore abolished permanent faculty so students can receive the lecture and laboratory classes they need and deserve at class sizes that fosters active learning.

Fifth, the legislature finds that the projected shortage of registered nurses in the State is 1,518, which is expected to grow to 2,267 by 2010. The nursing shortage is exacerbated by a growing and aging population that is aging faster than the rest of the country. Between 2000 and 2020 the number of people age sixty and older will increase by almost seventy-five per cent. Because Hawaii's registered nurse workforce is also aging, an increasing number of registered nurses are anticipated to retire. Accordingly, the shortage of registered nurses is expected to worsen.

The legislature finds that nursing schools are the gateway to the "nursing pipeline". A main factor to bolstering the supply and lessening the effects of the nursing shortage is dependent on the educational capacity of nursing schools. In the fall of 2005, three hundred fifty-five qualified applicants were turned away from the nursing programs at the University of Hawaii.

The legislature finds that key factors to increasing the educational capacity of the State's nursing programs are:

The legislature also finds that continued support and a strategic public sector approach is necessary to sustain a robust, qualified nursing workforce to meet Hawaii's health care needs. The University of Hawaii's nursing programs have a plan to increase educational capacity for nursing and dental hygiene, but funding must be allocated to support implementation of the plan.

Sixth, the legislature finds that, based on a "twenty-four hour access, three day a week" pilot project conducted in the spring of 2004, there is a need for increased library hours at the University of Hawaii's Hamilton library. Students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa have lobbied vigorously for a twenty-four hour, three days a week access to the library. Because most students commute to campus, hold part-time jobs, and have other responsibilities, it is imperative that the library extend its hours to accommodate the diverse schedules of students. At most major universities, it is common for libraries to operate twenty-four hours a day during the weekdays.

Furthermore, Hamilton Library houses essential collections and reference material, provides much needed online computer workstations and basic office applications, and fills an acute need for quiet individual and group study areas absent elsewhere on campus, in the dormitories, and in homes.

Seventh, the legislature finds that a student-run television station and related programming will increase the University of Hawaii's communications footprint, provide a real community service, and demonstrate critical cross-platform and transdisciplinary leadership in the twenty-first century. A student-run television station would also serve citizens of the State by developing workforce personnel knowledgeable about Hawaii's culture, history, and politics, and who would augment existing local television news coverage.

University of Hawaii student-run television has a unique opportunity to differentiate itself from other news, information, and entertainment services in the Hawaiian islands and in the world. With its young, ambitious, forward-looking, multicultural, and indigenous students, and their access to the foremost experts in the region on local and global issues, University of Hawaii student-run television is situated to offer a fresh and important perspective. At the same time, students will gain valuable experiential learning opportunities that will prepare them to better engage in and influence the professional, industry-side of our global information society.

Finally, the legislature finds that statistics on native Hawaiians at the University of Hawaii reflect a significant need for increased support of programs serving native Hawaiians. The legislature notes that:

The legislature finds that providing effective education programs for the native people of this land will benefit all of the people of the State.

The purpose of this Act is to allocate positions and funding to the University of Hawaii at Manoa for the above stated objectives.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007, for the University of Hawaii at Manoa for the purposes of this Act related to the school of nursing, campus security, utilities, the colleges of arts and sciences, the college of natural sciences, Hamilton library, student-run television, and native Hawaiian initiatives.

SECTION 3. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006.