THE University of Hawaii has reduced by 50 percent the tuition fee paid by Northern Marianas students.
Each off-island student pays at least $9,200 in tuition. This amount will be reduced to $4,600, according to Meliza Guajardo, the CNMI’s acting scholarship administrator.
“That’s a lot of savings for our students,” Guajardo said in an interview. The university has about 100 CNMI students.
Guajardo said the move came after acting Northern Marianas College President Barbara Moir met with University of Hawaii officials last April 5 to discuss the tuition fee paid by CNMI students.
According to Guajardo, Pat Grossman, the university’s admissions counselor for international students, informed them about the reduction of the fee.
“Effective immediately, the non-resident classification of residents of Northern Marianas has been rescinded; therefore, all residents of the Northern Marianas are to be given the statutory exemption,” read the order from the university’s Office of Vice President for Student Affairs.
“This change would not have been possible without the direct intervention of Dr. Barbara Moir—she has made a lot of students very happy,” Grossman said.
Guajardo said the non-resident tuition rate is imposed on off-island students who did not meet the residency requirement of the institution. Since January, CNMI students have been required to pay the non-resident tuition rate. Grossman said reversing this policy is a rare occurrence at the university.
“This doesn’t happen so often, so we’re celebrating,” Grossman told Guajardo.
