RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Student Housing Services office at the University of Hawaii at Manoa provides on-campus housing to approximately three thousand students in ten residence halls in a variety of living arrangements of traditional coed facilities, single and double occupancy rooms, and suites and apartment units; and

WHEREAS, the cost of housing for the 2006-2007 academic year semesters for traditional double occupancy start at $3,092, apartment units start at $4,094, and meal plans handled by a private provider, Sodexho, cost approximately $975 per semester, or $1,950 for the academic year; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii housing assistance revolving fund is used to implement the University of Hawaii housing assistance master plan and account for all transactions of the University Housing Assistance Program; and

WHEREAS, the Auditor is required to conduct postaudits of the transactions, accounts, programs, and performance of all state agencies required by the Legislature for the purpose of determining the validity of state funds; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Manoa has plans to construct a new dormitory facility at a cost of over $60,000,000 to be funded by a $25,000,000 general obligation bond appropriation from the Legislature and revenues generated by student housing fees; and

WHEREAS, the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii at Manoa has unsuccessfully attempted to resolve a variety of issues and allegations with the University of Hawaii at Manoa administration; and

WHEREAS, in November 2005, University of Hawaii at Manoa Student Housing administrators confiscated three thousand letters from student government representatives that would have informed their housing constituents of their right to report mistreatment; and

WHEREAS, the issues and allegations identified by the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii at Manoa include, but are not limited to: retaliatory harassment and intimidation by housing staff toward students who speak out against housing policies, sexual harassment of female students by University of Hawaii security staff, lack of due process and inconsistent application of housing rules, refusal to involve student input in developing a new Student Code of Conduct, abuse of power by hall directors such as embezzling funds from students and renting out rooms during the summer, and lack of training of housing staff in identifying illegal substances and the resulting highly questionable searches of possessions and dormitories; and

WHEREAS, University of Hawaii at Manoa Interim Chancellor Denise Eby Konan underscored student dissatisfaction in an August 31, 2005, address to the faculty senate, stating that "just last week, the Princeton Review survey came out. Manoa ranked number two in the nation in the category 'dorms like dungeons', sixth for long lines and red tape, and seventh for least happy students"; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is respectfully requested to conduct a management audit of the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Student Housing Services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, the President of the University of Hawaii, the Chair of the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, the Interim Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the President of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Report Title:

Management Audit of Student Housing Services; UH Manoa