Study: UH community colleges are nation’s most affordable 2-year institutions

Aspiring college students in Hawaii don’t have to look far to find the nation’s best bargain in higher education.

University of Hawaii Community Colleges, which includes Hawaii Community College campuses in Hilo and at Palamanui in Kailua-Kona, are the most affordable two-year higher education institutions in the U.S., according to the 2016 College Affordability Diagnosis conducted by the Pennsylvania State University Graduate School of Education.

“The University of Hawaii is committed to improving the well-being of current and future generations through access to affordable, high-quality higher education.” said UH President David Lassner in a press release. “This study reflects our campuses’ success in maintaining affordability across the UH system in the dynamic and challenging environment facing public higher education across the nation.”

The study also correlated the cost of public higher education with family income and found Hawaii was the third most affordable state in the nation.

John Morton, UH vice president of community colleges, said in an email that lower prices make higher education a more attainable reality for students from low-income families, as Pell grants, scholarships and employers — among other sources — often are able to cover a larger share of attendance costs.

Nowhere in Hawaii is that more meaningful than on the Big Island. State Sen. Josh Green, D-Kona, Ka‘u, said Hawaii County is home to the largest percentage of poverty-stricken people in the state.

He added that while the recent construction of the HCC Palamanui campus was a top legislative priority throughout his 12 years in office, an affordable price for the education administered there was nearly as crucial as the facility itself.

“To have any kind of affordable education is a huge opportunity, because very few people can easily afford that as an extra cost,” Green said. “Having a community college people didn’t have to travel to was key, and making it affordable was really central to the plan, otherwise we’ve built something that can’t be used.”

Green described the presence of affordable higher education as an anchor, which allows people to remain on Hawaii Island. It’s a development he thinks will significantly bolster the local economy.

To that end, the senator sponsored legislation last year to make community colleges in Hawaii free. Though it didn’t advance, he intends to introduce the same legislation next session.

“One of the best ways to get economic growth in a society is to get people extra higher education,” Green said. “Community college is relatively inexpensive compared to four-year colleges, so it’s not a big reach to subsidize community college education given how much extra economic benefit we get from it. Just the number of people who will not need public assistance is huge, so there are ways to afford it.”

For now, Morton said his institution is less focused on free education and more focused on eliminating cost barriers to make education more affordable for all.

One way to achieve that is to cut into the cost of textbooks, which Morton said can run from $150-$300 per class. Leeward Community College and Kapiolani Community College, both on Oahu, are pushing toward free textbooks for students by way of faculty-created materials or using free materials from Open Educational Resources.

Morton said UH also is looking to curb dropout rates because of financial reasons, which are typically exacerbated by unexpected life expenses such as medical bills, car troubles and child care costs.

“Rather than trying to duplicate these services, we are following the lead of some of our sister colleges on the mainland, which are working to connect students with access to community benefit programs to help offset and deal with these financial crises so that students don’t have to stop attending college,” Morton said.

Email Max Dible at mdible@westhawaiitoday.com.