Leaders & Laggards

A State-by-State Report Card on Public Postsecondary Education

Hawaii

Student Access & Success

Hawaii gets low marks in this area for both four-year and two-year institutions. The state’s four-year institutions score well in credentials produced per 100 full-time equivalent undergraduates but below average in completion rate, retention rate, and the percentage of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants. The state’s two-year institutions have a relatively high retention rate but score much lower on the percentage of Pell recipients and completion rate.

Efficiency & Cost-Effectiveness

Hawaii receives very low grades in this area, with both a four-year cost per completion ($85,139) and a two-year cost per completion ($77,267) ranking in the bottom 10 nationally. State and local funding per completion ranks in the bottom five states for both sectors, at $85,249 for four-years and $58,532 for two-years.

Meeting Labor Market Demand

The median wage of a Hawaii bachelor’s degree holder is approximately $17,200 (or 56%) more than the median wage of a high school graduate; the overall unemployment rate for a bachelor’s degree holder is about 5 points lower. The median wage of an associate’s degree holder is approximately $9,900 (or 32%) more than the median wage of a high school graduate; the overall unemployment rate is about 4 points lower.

Transparency & Accountability

Hawaii receives an average score for its public accountability resources but overall poor and very poor grades in this area. The state does not measure student learning or labor market outcomes, contributing to its overall below average performance.

Policy Environment

The University of Hawaii (UH) System has a list of performance measures with targets to 2015. The UH System also has an outcomes-based funding system. Each school has set outcomes targets, and the weights for each outcome vary by campus depending on the institution’s mission. Ultimately, about 3% of an institution’s budget is at stake. The UH System also has an articulation policy whereby a student can transfer an associate’s degree to a four-year institution.

Innovation

The UH System’s distance learning portal includes courses and degrees for both four- and two-year institutions, and the state has explicit targets to increase distance learning. Regarding new providers, Hawaii asserts very little regulatory authority.

Report Card

Compare with

Four-Year Institutions

HI Nat'l
Student Access & Success D
Percentage of Pell Grant Recipients 30.7 30.8
Retention Rate 75.5 77.9
Completion Rate 46.5 54.5
Completions per 100 FTE Students 21.7 19.7
Risk-Adjusted Completion Points (5-point Scale) 2
Complete College America *
Efficiency & Cost-Effectiveness F
Cost Per Completion $85,139 $68,140
State and Local Funding Per Completion $85,249 $41,198
State, Local, and Tuition Funding Per Completion $115,083 $76,932
Cost Per Completion and Public Funding Combined Measure (5-point scale) 1
Meeting Labor Market Demand C
BA vs. HS Wage Gap (Overall) $17,211 $17,881
BA vs. HS Wage Ratio (Overall) 155.9 156.0
BA vs. HS Wage Gap (25–34) $11,711 $12,703
BA vs. HS Wage Ratio (25–34) 140.7 149.9
BA vs. HS Unemployment Gap (Overall) 4.7 4.0
BA vs. HS Unemployment Ratio (Overall) 2.4 2.1
BA vs. HS Unemployment Gap (25–34) 7.9 7.1
BA vs. HS Unemployment Ratio (25–34) 3.2 2.9
Transparency & Accountability D
Transparency—Public Accountability (5-point Scale) 4
Transparency—Consumer Information (3-point Scale) 0
Does the State Report Labor Market Outcomes? false
Labor Market Outcomes (4-point Scale) 0
Does the State Report Student Learning Outcomes? false
Student Learning Outcomes (3-point Scale) 0

Two-Year Institutions

HI Nat'l
Student Access & Success D
Percentage of Pell Grant Recipients 28.7 46.9
Retention Rate 62.2 58.6
Completion Rate 14.8 20.5
Completions Per 100 FTE Undergraduates 16.1 16.8
Risk-Adjusted Completion Points (5-point Scale) 2
Efficiency & Cost-Effectiveness F
Cost Per Completion $77,267 $57,210
State and Local Funding Per Completion $58,532 $35,476
State, Local, and Tuition Funding Per Completion $76,139 $52,512
Cost Per Completion and Public Funding Combined MeasureCombined Measure (5-point Scale) 1
Meeting Labor Market Demand B
AA vs. HS Wage Gap (Overall) $9,867 $8,545
AA vs. HS Wage Ratio (Overall) 132.0 126.1
AA vs. HS Wage Gap (25–34) $5,432 $6,595
AA vs. HS Wage Ratio (25–34) 118.9 125.0
AA vs. HS Unemployment Gap (Overall) 3.8 2.7
AA vs. HS Unemployment Ratio (Overall) 1.9 1.5
AA vs. HS Unemployment Gap (25–34) 5.0 4.9
AA vs. HS Unemployment Ratio (25–34) 1.78 1.84
Transparency & Accountability F
Transparency—Public Accountability (5-point Scale) 3.5
Transparency—Consumer Information (3-point Scale) 0
Does the State Report Labor Market Outcomes? false
Labor Market Outcomes (4-point Scale) 0
Does the State Report Student Learning Outcomes? false
Student Learning Outcomes (3-point Scale) 0

State

HI Nat'l
Policy Environment B
State Goals (6-point Scale) 4
Does the State Have Outcomes-Based Funding? true
Four-Year Outcomes-Based Funding (3-point Scale) 3
Two-Years Outcomes-Based Funding (3-point Scale) 3
Does the State Have a Credit Transfer Policy? true
Credit Transfer Policy (5-point Scale) 2
Innovation: Openness to Providers A
Numerical Openness to New Providers Grade 100%
Regulatory Jurisdiction 100%
Financial Burden 100%
Approval Process Burden 100%
Innovation: Online Learning B
Numerical Online Learning Grade 71.4
Online Learning Score (7-point Scale) 5

State Facts at a Glance

  • Number of Public Four-Year Institutions 3
  • Number of Public Two-Year Institutions 7
  • Number of Students Served by Public Four-Year Institutions 17069
  • Number of Students Served by Public Two-Year Institutions 18854
Copyright © 2012 U.S. Chamber of Commerce 1615 H St NW Washington DC 20062-2000 All Rights Reserved