UH Board of Regents approves university's supplemental budget request

Request for additional funding continues to target established priorities

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Carolyn Tanaka, (808) 956-9803
Mia Noguchi, (808) 956-9095
External Affairs & University Relations
Posted: Sep 16, 2005

LĪHUʻE, KAUAʻI — At its monthly meeting held today at Kauaʻi Community College, the University of Hawaiʻi's Board of Regents (BOR) approved the university's supplemental budget recommendations totaling $41.5 million in operating funds and $187 million in capital improvement funds for the FY 2006-2007 year. The approved budget will be forwarded to the Governor and the 2006 Legislature.

The capital improvement budget includes a request for $88.4 million dollars for renewal and deferred maintenance of UH facilities, $12.6 million to address health, safety and code requirements, with the balance focused on new facilities at Mānoa, Hilo, West Oʻahu and the community college campuses.

The supplemental operating budget, includes: $3.6 million to fund Native Hawaiian programs; $1 million to support a proposed Rapid Response Workforce Development Fund; $1.6 million to support program review and assessment at the community colleges; $1.4 million to support the development of a college of pharmacy at UH Hilo; and $6.9 million to fund projected increases in utilities costs.

In requesting this funding, the university's recommendations continue to target biennium budget priorities, including serving Native Hawaiians, enhancing security on all campuses, and expanding workforce development. The projected increase in utilities reflects the recent and dramatic spike in energy prices.

In other action, the BOR approved the establishment of an Associate in Arts in Teaching Degree at Leeward Community College. The program will prepare students for employment as educational assistants or provide the first two years of a baccalaureate program in elementary or secondary education.

"We are pleased to be in a position to address this crucial work force need for the state of Hawaiʻi. And we are doubly pleased at providing more access to local students to enter the teaching profession," said Peter Quigley, chancellor of Leeward Community College.

Based on estimates from the Hawaiʻi Department of Education, the shortfall of candidates for elementary school teaching licenses alone in the 2003-2004 school year was 196 or 56 percent of the estimated 350 teachers needed, despite available B.Ed. programs in the state functioning in excess of their designed capacity.

About the University of Hawaiʻi

Established in 1907 and fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the University of Hawaiʻi is the state‘s sole public system of higher education. The UH System provides an array of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees and community programs on 10 campuses and through educational, training, and research centers across the state. UH enrolls more than 50,000 students from Hawaiʻi, the U.S. mainland, and around the world. For more information, visit www.hawaii.edu.