UH Proposes 10 Campus Tuition Cuts and Freezes

The University of Hawaiʻi administration is proposing a decrease and subsequent freeze in tuition rates at UH’s 10 campuses, including the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College, to make public higher education in Hawaiʻi more affordable.

David Lassner, University of Hawaiʻi President said that if the board of regents approves the proposed tuition schedule at its next meeting on January 31, it would demonstrate a strong commitment to affordability.

“This unprecedented request would provide most UH students and their families with a flat tuition rate for five consecutive years including 2018-19,” said Lassner. “If approved, it will be a strong demonstration of our university commitment to affordability and will work in concert with the remarkable Early College and Hawaiʻi Promise programs supported by the State to help bring the benefits of public higher education to more of Hawaiʻi’s citizenry.”

The proposal would decrease approved tuition rates for nearly all students for the 2019-2020 academic year, and then freeze those lowered rates for the 3-year period from 2020-2023. Some of the larger decreases apply to graduate and non-resident tuition rates, which have risen substantially above peers, and UH administrators say, are now a hindrance to enrollment growth.

Proposed tuition for academic years 2019–2020 to 2022–2023
*(Information provided courtesy University of Hawaiʻi)

UH Mānoa undergraduate

• Resident: $11,088—Reducing the approved tuition for 2019–2020 by 2 percent ($216)
• Non-resident: $32,669—Reducing the approved tuition increase for 2019–2020 by 2 percent ($667)

UH Mānoa graduate

• Resident: $15,600—Reducing the approved tuition for 2019–2020 by 2 percent ($312)
• Non-resident: $33,653—Reducing the approved tuition for 2019–2020 by 10 percent ($3,739)

UH Hilo and UH West Oʻahu undergraduate

• Resident: $7,272—Reducing the approved tuition for 2019–2020 by 1 percent ($72)
• Non-resident: $20,101—Reducing the approved tuition for 2019–2020 by 1 percent ($203)

UH Hilo graduate

• Resident: $11,616—Reducing the approved tuition for 2019–2020 by 1 percent ($120)
• Non-resident: $26,302—Reducing the approved tuition for 2019–2020 by 1 percent ($266)

UH community colleges lower division

• Resident: $3,084—Reducing the approved tuition for 2019–2020 by 2 percent ($60)
• Non-resident: $8,220—Reducing the approved tuition for 2019–2020 by 1 percent ($60)

UH community colleges upper division

• Resident: $7,272—Reducing the approved tuition for 2019–2020 by 1 percent ($72)
• Non-resident: $20,101—Reducing the approved tuition for 2019–2020 by 1 percent ($203)