HR131 HD1

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; and

WHEREAS, good public policy in this matter must take into account a number of factors such as:

· Campus mission;

· Access of Hawaii residents;

· Cost to the State of educating non residents;

· Expenditures for recruiting and retaining non resident students;

· Financial aid sources available for non residents;

· Availability of housing and related costs to the State;

· Retention and graduation rates of non resident students; and

· Balancing the value of having non resident students in our UH system with the need to ensure access and opportunity to higher education for students who reside in remote parts of the State or who are considered at risk; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, 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 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.

Report Title:

Nonresident Student Enrollment; Campus Ceilings

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	131
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII