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University officials warn proposed tuition-fee restrictions and lapsing would hamstring system operations
Summary
University witnesses told the finance committee that proposals to restrict use of tuition and special-fee balances to the campus where they were collected, and to lapse unspent balances, would undermine systemwide functions, harm small campuses, and reduce funds for deferred maintenance and scholarships.
University officials and witnesses warned legislators that a pair of proposed provisions would materially change the University of Hawaiʻi's ability to manage systemwide operations. At the hearing, a university representative described a system with roughly $428 million in tuition and special-fee balances and warned that making those funds campus-specific or sweeping them to the general fund would "transform the system into 10 siloed campuses" and damage smaller community colleges that rely on cross-campus resource-sharing.
A university official described deferred maintenance as a major near-term budgetary challenge, saying the system has an estimated deferred-maintenance backlog in the hundreds of millions: "We have over $600 million in deferred maintenance... our rim funding is maybe like $30 million a year," the representative said, arguing that retaining tuition and fee funds helps address that gap. Committee members pressed for specific examples of how the special-fee funds are used; witnesses cited operations, scholarships and workforce programs as typical uses.
Corporate and private supporters who testified earlier on the NIL and athletics bill also told committee members that investments in University athletics produce broader economic returns, but those witnesses did not support sweeping system funds or restricting their use to single campuses.
The committee heard testimony and discussion; no formal action was taken. University officials urged caution, noting their strategic plans rely on the ability to move funds systemwide to respond to emergencies, support shared compliance and technology platforms, and sustain smaller campuses.
