RELATING TO ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION.

SB171

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

171

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to access to higher education
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION
1
.
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The legislature finds that access to higher
education plays an important role in individual and societal success.
�
According to the College Board, there is a
correlation between higher levels of education and higher earnings for all
racial and ethnic groups, as well as both men and women.
�
The College Board has noted that the income
gap between high school graduates and college graduates has increased
significantly over time, while higher levels of education also correspond to
lower levels of unemployment, poverty, public health risks, and incarceration
throughout society.

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The legislature further finds that in April
2016, the Institute for Research on Higher Education at the University of
Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education issued a study that analyzed college
costs in relation to family income level.
�
The study revealed that while Hawai
ʻ
i
ranks high in college affordability, higher education costs remain a major
expense for working families, especially those earning less than $30,000
annually.
�
The department of education
also reported that the college-going rate for the class of 2021 high school
students is fifty-one per cent, with Native Hawai
ʻ
ian,
Pacific Islander, and Filipino students continuing to enroll in college at
rates that are lower than other ethnic groups.

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Additionally, the legislature finds that
the Hawai
ʻ
i community college
promise program was established to alleviate the high cost of obtaining a
college education for low�income families.
�
Yet the program, along with other financial
aid policies, has not made community college fully affordable for all students
who wish to enroll in a community college. Currently, the State provides
minimal need-based assistance to offset the unmet direct cost of community
college for qualified students enrolled at any community college campus within
the university of Hawai
ʻ
i system, with the
financial assistance through the program contingent upon available funding and
on a greatest need basis.

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The legislature also finds that some states
have implemented programs to make community college free for all or most
students, including California, Delaware, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode
Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.
�
The legislature finds that expanding access to
the Hawai
ʻ
i community college
promise program to all qualified applicants would increase Hawai
ʻ
i's
college-going rate, especially for students and families who are economically
disadvantaged.
�
Expanding access would
also provide more students with the educational opportunities that are
necessary for the development of a sustainable and diversified twenty-first
century economy in the State.

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The legislature notes that the cost of
making community college tuition free can be estimated using data obtained from
the university of Hawai
ʻ
i's institutional
research, analysis, and planning office.
�
For the fall 2022 semester, the university of
Hawai
ʻ
i reported that 12,449 classified
students with Hawai
ʻ
i residency were
enrolled in community college, 4,930 of whom were registered as full-time
students and 7,519 of whom were registered as part-time students.
�
The university of Hawaii also reported that
approximately forty-two per cent of community college students received
financial aid to cover the cost of their tuition in the most recent year for
which data is available and that part-time residential community college
students enroll in 6.6 credits per semester on average.
�
When these data points are considered, the
cost of making community college tuition free for Hawai
ʻ
i
residents can be estimated at less than $20,000,000, even after accounting for
first-year enrollment increases experienced by other states that have
implemented free community college programs.
�
Moreover, the actual cost of making community
college tuition free would likely be even lower than these numbers suggest,
since many students received financial assistance from the military or from
other scholarship programs.

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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to
expand access to higher education for qualified Hawai
ʻ
i
residents by:

����
(1)
�
Expanding
eligibility for scholarships under the Hawai
ʻ
i
community college promise program to all qualified students; and

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(2)
�
Appropriating
funds to finance the expansion.

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SECTION
2
.
�
Section 304A-506, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsections (a) through (c) to read as follows:

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"
(a)
�
Notwithstanding section 304A-501, there is
established the Hawaii community college promise program to be administered by
the board of regents.
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The program shall
provide
�
financial assistance in the
form of
scholarships for the unmet direct cost needs of
all

qualified students enrolled at any community college campus of the [
University
]

university
of Hawaii.

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(b)
�

[
A
]
Each
student enrolled at a community college campus
shall be eligible for [
scholarship consideration
]
and shall receive
financial assistance through scholarships
for a maximum of eight semesters [
if
]

through the Hawaii community college promise program; provided that
the
student:

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(1)
�
Qualifies for Hawaii resident tuition;

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(2)
�
Completes and submits the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid for each academic year and accepts all
federal and state aid, grants, scholarships, and other funding sources that do
not require repayment; provided that this paragraph shall not apply to a
student who enrolls in a certificate program;

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(3)
�
Is enrolled in a classified degree or
certificate program with six or more credits per semester;

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(4)
�
Maintains satisfactory academic
progress, as defined by federal requirements established pursuant to title IV
of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and determined by the campus
at which the student is enrolled; and

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(5)
�
Has been determined by the campus to
have unmet direct cost needs.

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(c)
�
[
Scholarships shall be awarded to the
extent possible based on available funds and on a greatest need basis.
]
�
An award granted to a student shall be equal
to the student's unmet direct cost need, based on the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid calculation of need, less the amounts available to the
student from Pell grants and other scholarships; provided that the unmet direct
cost need for a student
who enrolls in a certificate program shall be
based on a suitable instrument, as determined by the university of Hawaii, less
the amounts available to the student from grants and other scholarships."

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SECTION 3.
�

There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii
the sum of $20,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year
2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal
year 2026-2027 for expansion of eligibility for scholarships under the Hawai
ʻ
i
community college promise program to all qualified students.

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The sums

appropriated shall be expended by the university of Hawaii for the
purposes of this Act.

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SECTION 4.
�

Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory material is underscored.

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SECTION 5.
�

This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

UH;
Hawaii Community College Promise Program; Community College Access; Financial
Assistance; Scholarships; Appropriations

Description:

Expands
eligibility for scholarships under the Hawaii Community College Promise Program
to all qualified students.
�
Appropriates
funds.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.