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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
140 |
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TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE FORMATION OF A UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII SECOND CENTURY PROMISE TASK FORCE.
WHEREAS, the Legislature commends the University of Hawaii on its first centennial, remembering the University from its humble beginnings in 1907 in a small house on Young Street as the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts and acknowledging its status today, one hundred years later, as a world-renowned and well respected university system comprised of ten campuses that offer more than six hundred twenty certificates and degrees; and
WHEREAS, over the past few decades the Legislature has granted the University with increased administrative and financial flexibility to respond more effectively to program needs, changing situations, and entrepreneurial opportunities, and thereby be able to provide higher education of superior quality; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature has been grappling with the relationship between the taxpayer, the University of Hawaii, and the student for quite some time, having even mandated in 1995 a general fund appropriation based on tuition revenues estimated for that fiscal year in question; and
WHEREAS, the University suffered great budget cuts during the downturn in the economy during the late 1990s; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature will remain uncertain as to how the University of Hawaii will respond in the future to significant downturns in the economy absent a solid and bold relationship with the taxpayers of this State; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the House of Representatives concurring, that the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are requested to form a University of Hawaii Second Century Promise Task Force to develop a funding formula for state funds to the University of Hawaii system; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are requested to appoint the chairs of the House Committee on Higher Education and the Senate Committee on Education to chair the task force and to have the task force composed of members that represent the University of Hawaii, the Hawaii Educational Policy Center, Enterprise Honolulu, and the Hawaii Business Roundtable; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in developing an appropriate funding formula, the task force is requested to:
(1) Examine the relationship between the State, the University of Hawaii, and the student;
(2) Examine the use of outcomes and benchmarks in funding, such as graduation rates, job placements, or responses of the University to worker shortages;
(3) Develop a method by which to prioritize outcomes and benchmarks in the formula;
(4) Examine examples from other states, if relevant, including Indiana, Kentucky, North Dakota, Virginia, Louisiana, Texas, and Oregon; and
(5) Obtain input and perspectives of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit a report on its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chairs of the House Committee on Higher Education and the Senate Committee on Education, the Governor, and the President and Chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii.
UH; Funding