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Students who are already feeling the effects of the shaky economy can only watch as University of Hawai'i at Mānoa tuition continues its steady climb and new tuition fees are being discussed.
UH Mānoa is in the midst of a six-year tuition increase that began in 2007 and will see tuition almost double by the time it ends in 2012.
Tuition for a full time UH Mānoa undergraduate resident student will be raised $34 per credit hour next semester - from $248 per credit to $282. Nonresident undergraduate students will see the current $692 per credit hour raised to $784 next semester, an increase of $92 per credit.
Resident students will be paying $408 dollars more next semester to carry 12 credits - the minimum requirement to be considered a full-time student - while non-resident full time undergraduate students will be paying $1,104 more than they did this semester.
Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw said that part of the reason for the tuition increase was that UH used to be mostly state supported, but UH and the state came to an agreement to let UH keep students' tuition revenue. Hinshaw said it was decided to raise student tuition because the previous tuition rates weren't covering expenses.
"States can only cover so much, and so in order to really build, particularly a research one institution like this one, sometimes they switch over to having a more shared burden between the states and the students," Hinshaw said.
Tuition will continue to be raised by $34 per credit hour for resident students and $92 for non residents over the next three school years.
"That's a better way to do it, rather than to wait," said Hinshaw of the gradual increase. "What happened in some places where I worked is they kept it constant and then when there was a financial problem they raised it … so (they) could cover the cost.
"I know it's challenging at times for folks, particularly in the tougher economic times, but it's a wonderful investment and its still one of the lower ends of tuition, and we want to be sure we give the greatest value for that dollar," Hinshaw added.
WHERE IT ALL GOES
UH receives three main sources of funds, according to Kathleen Cutshaw, UH Mānoa vice chancellor for administration, finance and operation.
The first financial source is the general funds, which is a base budget UH receives from the legislature and can fluctuate depending on state revenues. The entirety of the general funds goes to faculty and staff salaries, according to Cutshaw. This session the state legislature is recommending a $34 million cut in general funds.
UH's second source is the Return of Overhead funds that are based on federal grants and contracts and can only be applied to research purposes under state law, according to Cutshaw.
The third source of funds UH Mānoa receives are from students' tuition. About 25 percent of students' tuition goes toward faculty and staff salaries while the remaining 75 percent goes toward operating costs, according to Cutshaw.
"All of the operation costs at Mānoa are paid by tuition revenues," Cutshaw said.
Hinshaw called herself "Mrs. Repairs and Maintenance" because of the large number of campus maintenance repairs she inherited when she became UH Mānoa chancellor in 2007.
"Even during the budget reductions I have not given reductions to repairs and maintenance. And I'm not going to," Hinshaw said.
All UH Mānoa undergraduates currently pay at least $156.30 in tuition fees, with the fees increasing slightly depending on the number of credits a student is taking.
Tuition fees are currently dispersed in varying funds to seven sources: The Board of Publications, the student health fee, the campus center board, campus center operations and recreation, student activity and program fee, broadcast communication authority and the Associated Students of the University of Hawai'i.
In addition to those fees, a $50 athletic fee, a $50 departmental fee and a $20 Upass fee are also being floated around as possible tuition fees.
Campus Center Fees
By far, the costliest tuition fee UH Mānoa students pay each semester is the $97 campus center operations and recreation fee. The operations and recreation fee has increased $52 since Spring 2007, when it was $45.
Jan Javinar, UH Mānoa director of co-curricular activities, programs and services, said the campus center board justified the increase after receiving feedback from students through surveys about campus center services.
The campus center operations and recreation fee, in addition to paying student employees and supplies, is also helping pay off the $47 million campus center renovation.
"That money will be used to pay for the bonds we need to get to construct the new campus center," Javinar said of the campus center operations and recreation fee.
Phase One of the three-step renovation began in summer, 2008 and was completed last fall. The $38 million phase two, which includes adding a new recreational center, a fitness center and gym with a court, lockers and showers to the campus center is set to begin next semester, with the end date yet to be determined.
In addition to the operations and recreation fee, students also pay a $15 fee to the campus center board.
"The fifteen dollars is what is providing the more social elements," Javinar said, such as the campus center movie night and other activities.
Student Health Fee
The next tuition fee that students contribute the most money to is the $28.00 student health fee, which increased $10.50 from Fall 2008 to Spring 2009. The student health fee goes to the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa health services for operational costs, according to UHSM Web site.
At some point in their college career, 65 percent of students visit the UHSM, according to the Web site, and even if students don't use UHSM the health fee "represents the individual's contribution to ensure that health care is accessible to everyone in the community. It allows the UHSM to provide optimal services to those who are in need regardless of their ability to pay. It also allows UHSM to maintain a healthy community," according to the Web site.
A 2007 survey of other universities found that all of the colleges surveyed had a health fee that averaged $105, according to the Web site.
Other Fees
In addition to the campus center fees and the health fee, students also pay a $13 Board of Publication tuition fee, a $3 fee that goes to the Broadcast Communication Authority and a $5 ASUH fee. Graduate students except for medical and law students pay a $15 dollar fee to the Graduate Student Association.
A student who takes more than nine credits pays $2.70 in student activity and program fees, while a student carrying less than eight credit pays $.30 for each credit they are taking. The student program fee is controlled by the Student Activity Program Fee Board, which "is the governing body that financially supports co-curricular programs on campus," according to the SAFPB Web site.
The Board of Publications is in charge of the UH campus publications Ka Leo, Ka Lamakua and the Hawaii Review. The BOP fee is applied towards student stipends, printing costs, faculty salaries and other costs.
The Broadcast Communication authority is responsible for KTUH, UH's student-run radio station, and UH's Student Video and Filmmaker's Association.
ASUH is the student-based organization that represents University of Hawai'i at Mānoa undergraduate students.
In addition to tuition fees, some majors also have to pay "professional fees."
Business majors have to pay an extra $400, nursing majors $1000, dental hygiene majors $500, architecture students $400 and students enrolled in applied music programs $55 for one credit and $90 for two or more credits.
Summer School
UH summer school is run through UH's outreach program, which is responsible for UH classes after 5 p.m. during the regular school year as well as the summer session.
Tuition for summer school is the same per credit hour as the fall and spring semesters, but unlike the regular semesters where any credits a student takes over 12 will be the same price, the summer session is based entirely per credits taken.
The outreach college doesn't receive money from the state but relies on student's tuition to fund itself.
"We run it almost like a private school," said Peter Tanaka, internim dean of of the UH Mānoa outreach college.
Tanaka said student's tuition goes to "instructors, supplies and whatever is necessary to run the courses."
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