NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
BOARD OF REGENTS
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I

Pursuant to provisions of Chapter 91, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, notice is hereby given that the Board of Regents of the University of Hawai‘i will hold public hearings on proposed Administrative Rules governing the determination of residency as applied to tuition payments and admissions at the University of Hawai‘i campuses. The public hearings will be held as follows:

Kauai May 22, 2006 (Monday)
5:00 p.m
Automotive Classroom 101
Kaua‘i Community College
Lihu‘e, Kauai

Maui May 23, 2006 (Tuesday)
5:00 p.m.
Ka\u2019a\u2019ike Building, Room 105C & D
Maui Community College
Kahului, Maui

O‘ahu May 31, 2006 (Wednesday)
5:00 p.m.
Campus Center, Room 308
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawai‘I

Hawai‘i June 1, 2006 (Thursday)
5:00 p.m.
Ho‘oulu Terrace, UCB Room 127
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo
Hilo, Hawai‘i

The proposed amendments would: 1) make house-keeping changes to update Chapter 20-4 by including new statutory language and deleting an obsolete practice; 2) clarify and streamline the University’s administrative procedures related to residency; 3) compress wording of the policies to allow greater stringency in the interpretation of the rules for conversion of non-resident to resident status for tuition purposes; 4) revise the composition of the Committee on Resident Status that hears appeals; and 5) require payment of non-resident tuition while the student is in the appeal process.

In 1989, an amendment to the residency criteria for tuition purposes was set forth in Section 304-4, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes. The amendment provided that the tax dependency criteria shall not apply to students who are claimed as tax dependents by a parent residing outside Hawai‘i provided: 1) the parent claiming the student is entitled to do so under a child support agreement resulting from a divorce or legal separation; and 2) the student and the other parent meet all remaining residency criteria. Inasmuch as statutes are effective on their enactment, the University was required by law to administer its residency determination procedures in conformance with the change in statute. The proposed amendments to Chapter 20-4, Hawai‘i Administrative Rules would bring the University’s rules into conformance with law.

Act 237 in 1996 abolished statutory exemptions previously included in HRS 304-4. Although these statutory exemptions were abolished, the Board of Regents in 1996, at the recommendation of the administration, chose to retain them as Board exemptions.

In addition to the aforementioned changes, the proposed amendments would:

1. Delete the section on prospective students denied admission solely on the basis of their nonresident status since the University does not deny admission solely on this basis.
2. Add the definition of residence to clarify that the term is synonymous with the concept of domicile and consistent with basic residency criteria and terminology used by other public institutions of higher education.
3. Specify the age limit of no more than 23 years of age for dependents, which is consistent with limits set by the military and financial aid for dependency.
4. Clarify language relating to residency status of non U.S. citizens in compliance with federal laws and consistent with terminology used by other public institutions of higher education.
5. Compress wording to apply stringency in the rules allowing non-residents to gain resident status after one-year of enrollment.
6. Change the composition of the Committee on Resident Status which hears appeals to initial decisions of student residency. The current committee of two students and one faculty member would be replaced by an appeals board of campus residency officers and one administrator. The proposed change is intended to result in a faster, more efficient appeals process and greater consistency in appeal decisions.
7. Change the current rule of payment of resident tuition while filing an appeal to where appellants would register paying non-resident tuition pending the outcome of their appeal. The proposed amendments would alleviate any difficulty in securing the non- resident differential from the student whose appeal is denied and is consistent with their initial classification of non-resident status. The student whose appeals are upheld by the appeals board will be refunded the non-resident differential.

The preceding summary of the proposed rules is provided for your convenience. Complete copies of the proposed amendments are available at the Office of the Board of Regents, 2444 Dole Street, Room 209, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822. Copies will be mailed upon request to any interested person.

Individuals wishing or unable to appear at the specified hearings are urged to file signed statements providing their views on the subject. Such statements will be received up to and including the date and time of the public hearings and should be addressed to:

Secretary of the Board of Regents
University of Hawai‘i
2444 Dole Street, Room 209
Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822

Individuals who require special needs or accommodations are asked to call the Secretary of the Board at (808) 956-8213 at least four working days prior to the hearing during normal business hours (8:00 a.m.-4:30 pm.).

David Iha
Secretary of the Board
University of Hawai‘i
(SB05522401 4/17/06)