HONOLULU — Due to increasing energy costs, the high rate of inflation and looking at tuition across the nation, the University of Hawaii administration is proposing a 2% increase starting with the 2025-2026 academic year. However, before the Board of Regents makes a final decision in early 2023, public meetings will be held to gather public feedback.

What You Need To Know

  • The proposal calls for a 2% increase in resident tuition rates at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, University of Hawaii West Oahu and University of Hawaii Hilo in 2025-2026 and another 2% increase in 2026-2027

  • Tuition for the UH Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law would increase by 2% starting from the 2024-2025 academic year

  • The proposal includes a freeze on community college and graduate tuition rates

  • Five public meetings will be held for students, parents, faculty, staff and the public to learn more about the proposal and submit feedback via oral and written testimony

According to a UH news release, the proposal begins with a freeze on undergraduate tuition for two more academic years, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. A 2% increase in resident tuition rates at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, University of Hawaii West Oahu and University of Hawaii Hilo in 2025-2026 and another 2% increase in 2026-2027 will follow. Non-resident undergraduate tuition rates would also reflect the same increase during the same two academic years.

The proposal includes a freeze on community college and graduate tuition rates for all four academic years (listed above) except for the UH Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law, which would increase by 2% in each of the three years starting from the 2024-2025 academic year to support the law school.

The last time tuition for the University of Hawaii’s 10-campus system increased took place during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 academic years. At the time, some tuition rates decreased and tuition has been frozen since 2020. View the proposed tuition schedule.

The first of five public meetings will take place on Nov. 15. Students, parents, faculty, staff and the public will learn more about the proposal and have the opportunity to submit feedback via oral and written testimony. The UH administration will submit a summary of all feedback from these meetings to the Board of Regents before it takes action next year. Meeting schedule:

  • UH Manoa: Nov. 15, 9-10:30 a.m., IT Bldg., Room 105A/B
  • UH Hilo: Nov. 16, 2-3:30 p.m., Waiolino Bldg., Room 101
  • Richardson Law School: Nov. 21, noon-1 p.m., Law School Classroom 2
  • UH Maui College: Nov. 29, 2-3:30 p.m., Kaaike 105A and 107
  • Kauai Community College: Dec. 1, 2-3:30 p.m., Fine Arts Auditorium

The public can also submit feedback via a Google form until midnight on Dec. 4.

Sarah Yamanaka covers events, environmental and community news for Spectrum News Hawaii.