HONOLULU—Tuition at Hawaii's public university system will go up starting next year under a plan approved Wednesday.
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents voted 9-3 to approve increases officials unveiled in August. Full-time students at the flagship Manoa campus will see a tuition increase of 35 percent over the next five years.
For the 2012-13 school year, resident undergraduate tuition will increase $132 per semester at Manoa, $120 for UH Hilo and $60 at community colleges. UH West Oahu's tuition would go up $228 per semester in the first year because the new campus faces start-up costs that more established campuses don't have, university officials said.
Under the plan, tuition at Manoa next year will go from $8,400 to $8,664. Tuition at UH Hilo will go from $5,640 to $5,880. By the 2016-17 school year, resident undergraduate tuition will be $11,376 at UH Manoa and $7,656 at UH Hilo.
"We are well aware of the economic struggle that many Hawaii families are experiencing," said Regents Chairman Eric Martinson. "We made this decision with the best interests of Hawaii's citizens and our only public higher education institution in mind, and with the certainty that accompanying increased financial aid and outreach counseling will continue to make a college degree accessible to all who desire it."
University President M.R.C. Greenwood has called the increases "reasonable" and noted the university has sustained more than $86 million in operating budget cuts over the past two years.
Student Richard Mizusawa said Wednesday's decision will mean he'll have to take out loans next year.
"Tuition is going to gradually increase over time, so it's going to be more a burden for me to pay for it," said the 19-year-old sophomore who is majoring in communications and political science. "And in Hawaii, it's more expensive to live here."
Mizusawa lives with his parents in Aiea but was planning to move to an on-campus dorm. He said he's now reconsidering that plan.
"I'm shocked they accepted it," he said. "I felt they could have considered other sources of revenue."
Pre-nursing sophomore Lynelle Acosta, 19, of Kalihi, said she worries about her parents' ability to pay her tuition, but she feared that without an increase, her program would suffer budget cutbacks, which could result in fewer courses available.
