HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	158
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the university of hawaii board of regents to STUDY THE FEASIBILITY AND BENEFITS OF ALLOWING THE CAMPUS CEILING FOR NONRESIDENT ENROLLMENTS TO BE SET ON A CAMPUS-BY-CAMPUS BASIS, OR ALTERNATIVELY, OF LIFTING THE CEILINGS.

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii (UH) is a public university system, the primary goal of which is to serve Hawaii residents; and

     WHEREAS, campus ceilings for nonresident enrollments are currently 30 percent at the baccalaureate campuses and 15 percent at the community colleges of UH; and

     WHEREAS, ceilings on nonresident enrollments may not acknowledge the diversity and flexibility of individual campuses within the UH system; and

     WHEREAS, many small states that are dependent on tourism routinely attract student bodies that are more than 50 percent nonresident, such as at the University of Vermont and University of New Hampshire, where nonresident students account for 65 percent of the student body, and more than half of the entering class, respectively; and

     WHEREAS, through such "educational tourism," non-resident students contribute to the revenues of universities through tuition set at higher rates, fees, and room and board charges, as demonstrated by the considerable increase in nonresident tuition payments at UH since 2005; and

     WHEREAS, revenues from nonresident students make possible a wider range of programs to resident students, and allow for more flexibility during economic downturns and demographic fluctuations; and

     WHEREAS, as an institution of higher education, UH is instrumental in workforce development, and should foster understanding of different peoples and cultures in an increasingly global society and workplace; and

     WHEREAS, after graduation, many nonresident students enter the local workforce and volunteer in community service projects; and

     WHEREAS, enrollment management within the UH system may be most effective if decided by the individual campuses, especially as each campus already includes enrollment growth in its planning strategy; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the University of Hawaii Board of Regents is requested to study the feasibility and benefits of allowing the campus ceiling for nonresident enrollments to be set on a campus-by-campus basis, or alternatively, of lifting the ceilings; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Regents, President of the University of Hawaii, and chancellors of each of the University of Hawaii's campuses and community colleges.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Nonresident Student Enrollment; Campus Ceilings