Bill Text: HI HR145 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: UH; Operations; Tuition; Public Discussion

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-16 - Referred to HED, FIN, referral sheet 33 [HR145 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2015-HR145-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	145
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the university of hawaii board of regents to initiate a public discussion about the financing and cost of public higher education in hawaii.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, trillion-dollar student loan debt and skyrocketing tuitions have placed college and university spending in the national spotlight; and

 

     WHEREAS, over the past thirty-five years, inflation-adjusted tuition costs at public universities have tripled while per-student investment by states in institutions of public higher education has dramatically declined; and

 

     WHEREAS, questions are often also asked about an increasing national reliance on part-time instructors; and

 

     WHEREAS, the number of tenure-track university faculty positions has declined significantly nationwide over the last two decades; and

 

     WHEREAS, in considering its personnel needs, the University of Hawaii should ensure that categories and proportions are aligned to serve the university's core missions of teaching, research, and service; and

 

     WHEREAS, for more than a decade, many colleges and universities have tried to manage costs created by the growth in administrative positions and their associated benefits by increasingly relying on part-time instructors; and

 

     WHEREAS, by hiring additional professional staff, many colleges and universities have eliminated much of the savings that was anticipated from the use of part-time instructors; and

 

     WHEREAS, an amendment to the Hawaii State Constitution in 2000 provided the University of Hawaii with more autonomy; and

 

     WHEREAS, the language of that constitutional amendment was internally inconsistent since it provided the University's Board of Regents with "exclusive jurisdiction" over the University's internal operations, which the board already possessed, but also included qualifying language providing that the Regents' jurisdiction did not limit the Legislature's power "to enact laws of statewide concern"; and

 

     WHEREAS, since the University of Hawaii is the only public institution of higher learning in the State, proper oversight, transparency, accountability, and public confidence in its fiscal and operational administration and academic affairs is vital; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii cannot be autonomous from the State of Hawaii and, conversely, the Legislature cannot control or micromanage the University for political reasons; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University has undergone multiple reorganizations at its flagship Manoa campus and system-wide since 2001; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University acknowledges that it is spending more in certain areas but that the public does not perceive that services have noticeably improved; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Board of Regents directed the University administration to convene a public forum regarding the cost of public higher education in 2013; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University is convening several internal working groups to identify functions, challenges, and opportunities in their areas of responsibility and to evaluate organizational and operational structures and provide recommendations on improving efficiency, effectiveness, accountability and transparency; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University has established a framework for metrics regarding productivity and efficiency; and

 

     WHEREAS, questions are often raised regarding the most reasonable balance in higher education between faculty, support staff, and executive and managerial personnel; and

 

     WHEREAS, in considering the optimum relative proportions of these personnel categories, the University must also balance productivity and efficiency, academic excellence, and the right of contingent faculty to earn a living wage; and

 

     WHEREAS, questions remain about the value of higher education to students, how much it should cost, what the appropriate means of containing and reducing costs are, and who should pay; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that the University of Hawaii Board of Regents is requested to initiate a public discussion about the University that includes deliberation on the:

 

     (1)  Expectations being placed on the University by the citizens of the State;

 

     (2)  Programmatic demands placed upon the University by the Legislature;

 

     (3)  Approaches that can be taken to reasonably contain and reduce costs, including reorganizations; and

 

     (4)  Optimal sources and proportions of revenue that the University should target in its budget planning; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Regents is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2016; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Regents and the Chancellor of each campus of the University of Hawaii system.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

UH; Operations; Tuition; Public Discussion