Study recommends splitting University of Hawaii president and Manoa chancellor roles, urges funding overhaul

HONOLULU — Lawmakers received an informational briefing Thursday on a study of the University of Hawaii system that recommended splitting the combined role of system president and chancellor of the flagship Manoa campus and revising the state’s higher‑education funding model.

Brian Prescott, president of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), told the House Committee on Higher Education the study — commissioned by the university and delivered to the Board of Regents in August 2025 — found wide variation in educational attainment across the islands, persistent enrollment declines in most UH campuses, and governance and funding structures that limit statewide coordination.

The study singled out the joint president/chancellor role as a structural problem. "Those are two different and often unrelated jobs with inherent conflicts for one person to handle on their own," Prescott said, arguing that separating statewide policy leadership from day‑to‑day campus operations would reduce tensions and improve systemwide strategy.

Prescott also criticized Hawaii’s budgeting practice of appropriating positions and placing salary ceilings at the campus level, calling the approach unique and inflexible. "The practice of appropriating positions … is absolutely a problem for the flexibility and the ability of the system president and of the institutions to resolve problems," he said, and urged the legislature to adopt mission‑differentiated funding, better data and benchmarks, and to eliminate position ceilings.

The report warned that the system faces mounting competition from out‑of‑state online providers — such as Arizona State and Western Governors University — and said program duplication (for example, multiple campuses offering similar nursing or dental‑hygiene programs) wastes resources and hampers statewide workforce alignment.

Committee members asked about whether Hawaii’s enrollment declines are an outlier; Prescott said community colleges nationwide have fallen sharply in recent years and that Hawaii’s declines largely mirror national patterns, though some UH campuses have seen steeper drops.

University President Wendy Henselt said the university is already moving on several fronts the report recommends. She told the committee that enrollment "has gone up since 2022" and that the university’s Direct‑to program is currently "up 18% in new applicants, discrete applicants, and 45% in terms of applications." She acknowledged losses to out‑of‑state online providers and said the Board of Regents supported splitting the president and Manoa chancellor roles; she said a national search to fill the separated positions is underway and is expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year.

Henselt said UH is also pursuing more centralized coordination and workforce initiatives, including creating an associate vice president for workforce development to prioritize programs that match island‑level labor demand and to speed online program deployment across campuses.

Chair Rep. Andrew Tuckier Garret told members the legislature is considering bills to change university governance and fiscal authority; he cited House Bill 2519, which would create greater fiscal autonomy for the university, and House Bill 1873, which would specify desired regent skill sets. Both bills were identified for upcoming committee action.

The briefing was informational only; there were no committee votes. The committee adjourned with members and university leaders agreeing to continue the discussion during the session.