Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 4, 1 April 1999 — Tuition waivers at the University of Hawaiʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Tuition waivers at the University of Hawaiʻi

ĪHE UNIVERSITY of Hawai'i's policy on tuition waivers is a ridiculous mess. As a result of excellent lobbying and research by several university students and faculty during the House and Senate hearings on S.B. 456 SD2 relating to tuihon waivers, the scandalous situation is now public knowledge. The university has steadfastly opposed legislahon proposing tuition waivers for Hawaiian students seeking degrees wiīhin the system unless the legislature appropriates for the waivers general funds transmitted to OHA and then to the university! The legislators, who seem to have missed the fact that it takes four years to obtain a degree, want the waivers funded from for a one-hme appropriahon credited against a possible

settlement of the Heely decision! Here are the facts: • The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (UHM) gives out 310 tuirion waivers for athletics and does not receive funding from the legislature to make up for revenues lost; • UHM gives out 150 tuihon waivers for the University band, and does not receive funding from the legislature to make up for revenues lost; • UHM provides 2,202 tuition waivers at present, but the legislature does not allocate funding for these waivers; • In 1993, the legislature enacted HRS 304-14.9 mandating UH tuihon waivers for 250 Hawafians. No appropriation was necessary for this measure to pass into law. "Autonomy" through Act 161 in 1995 eliminated these tuition waivers for Hawaiians. The legislature does not have to provide an appropriation to OHA or anyone else for tuihon waivers for Hawaiians. If the

legislature were to begin paying UH for Hawaiian tuirion waivers in 1999, it would set a bad precedent because in future years it would be expected to fund the band, athletic and all of the other thousands of tuition waivers the university currently provides without general fund allocations. Adding insult to injury is the current UH policy on foreign student tuition. At present, 600 foreign undergraduates who should be paying $9,408 are allowed to pay the yearly resi-

dent tuihon of $2,928. Residents pay the lower figure because they support the university through their taxes. Non-resi-dents, other than foreigners, pay higher tuition because they do not contribute to the state's tax base. Allowing non-residents ffom Burma, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea equates to a $3.88 million subsidy. Why not give this to Hawaiian residents whose ineome and property taxes fund the state system, including the university? For eaeh foreign student who receives a credit worth $6,480, the university could be providing tuirion waivers for two Hawaiian students. The university's excuse is that it is "autonomous" and not subject to the dictates of the legislature. It claims that the tuition waiver bill invades its jurisdichon as an autonomous entity. But the State of Hawai'i and all of its subdivisions are subject to the provisions of the statehood act and the state constimtion and statutes. There is no exemption for "autonomous" entities within

the state system. The Board of Regents and President Morhmer understood this when they submitted a $300 million dollar budget to the legislature for payment. Furthermore, the Regents' Strategic Plan lists as a goal "Recruit and fund keys to the academic success of under-rep-resented student populations, especially Native Hawaiians." It appears the university has no intention of following through on the Strategic Plans adopted for the decade ending in 2007. Also significant is that onee again the spectre of "racism" has been raised against Hawafians lobbying for tuition waivers. The racist charge is false for two reasons: First, entitlements owned Hawaiians are based on a unique poliheal relationship with the state and the United States, not race. Second, the facts indicate UH gives out thousands of tuition credits and waivers to athletes, the band, orchesria and hundreds of foreigners from all over the world, and is only fighting against tuition waivers for Hawaiians. This is racism and Hawaiians are the victims. Let's redraft the UH policy on tuition waivers. ■

[?]