Three University of Hawaiʻi community college campuses have made a national list of low-cost public two-year institutions.
The U.S. Department of Education listed Leeward Community College, Kapiʻolani Community College and Honolulu Community College among 95 public two-year institutions with the lowest net price.
The “net price” represents the average cost of attending college, including tuition, fees, educational and living expenses, reduced by the average amount of institutional and federal financial aid provided by the campus.
The national average cost of attending a public two-year institution in academic year 2011–12 was $7,163. The U.S. Department of Education lists Leeward CC’s net price at $1,745; Kapiʻolani CC at $3,752; and Honolulu CC at $3,882 for academic year 2011–12, all well below the national average.
“Achieving a low net price in Hawaiʻi is quite an accomplishment in light of the extraordinarily high cost of living in Hawaiʻi compared to other parts of the country. Offering affordable, open door access to a college education through our community colleges remains one of our top priorities,” said Vice President for Community Colleges John Morton.
This year’s U.S. Department of Education data also lists institutions with the highest change in net price. The University of Hawaiʻi is not listed among them.
“This is a great accomplishment given that state funding for public institutions of higher education has been significantly reduced across the country, resulting in larger than desired tuition increases. In Hawaiʻi, stabilization of state funding for public higher education along with increases in institutional financial aid and strengthened efforts to help students access federal financial aid have helped slow net price increases in the state,” said UH President David Lassner.
