HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

144

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA TO RECONSIDER THE RECONSOLIDATION PLANS FOR THE SCHOOL OF TRAVEL INDUSTRY MANAGEMENT.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Virginia Hinshaw, has proposed the reconsolidation of the School of Travel Industry Management with the Shidler College of Business Administration as part of the University of Hawaii at Manoa's efforts to economize on administration costs; and

 

     WHEREAS, to accomplish this reorganization, the Chancellor has announced plans to develop criteria for organizational structures that "best support faculty staff students and maximize resources to examine schools with low critical mass"; and

 

     WHEREAS, the question of reconsolidation of the School of Travel Industry Management with the Schidler College of Business Administration was previously examined in detail in 1999 and, after carefully weighing the pros and cons, the decision was made not to re-merge the two programs in recognition that autonomy would allow greater breadth, flexibility, and innovation in serving the school's academic mission and the university's land grant mission to support the economic development of the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, since gaining its independent school status in 1991, the School of Travel Industry Management was among the first to be granted full accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration ("ACPHA") and, in its 2008 re-accreditation report, the ACPHA mandates that the program be "structured with sufficient operational independence to enable it to achieve its objectives"; and

 

     WHEREAS, the School of Travel Industry Management has brought recognition to the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Hawaii as a leader in tourism, the largest industry in the State and globally, is ranked by the United Nations World Tourism Organization TEDQUAL Certification to be one of the top two tourism programs in the nation and among the top eight in the world, and is among the twelve largest tourism and hospitality schools or colleges in the nation; and

 

     WHEREAS, in terms of economic efficiency, the School of Travel Industry Management is the most efficient unit because it has the lowest instructional expense per student, the smallest budget, the second largest average class size, and is the most cost-effective since it is the only unit, among all the seventeen colleges and schools at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, that covers its operating expenses with net tuition revenues such that a merger with Shidler College of Business Administration would not result in any cost savings to either itself or gains in efficiencies; and

 

     WHEREAS, in terms of critical mass among the nine schools at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the School of Travel Industry Management educates the third largest student body and produces the third largest number of graduates per year, which is still short of projected workforce needs for tourism middle managers in Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, the key to economic recovery in Hawaii is tourism and the loss of autonomy for the School of Travel Industry Management would impact the workforce for this critical industry since its students are currently the second fastest to graduate at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, at less than five years, with eight hundred mandatory hours of internship and almost one hundred per cent placement in the industry after graduation, and where the tourism and hospitality industry considers the School of Travel Industry Management's bachelor of science degree to be the preferred degree at hire; and

 

     WHEREAS, over two hundred thirty School of Travel Industry Management students have petitioned against the merger, indicating that a merger would make the degree less desirable and noncompetitive, and the faculty has passed a resolution opposing the merger due to the loss of faculty governance over its own academic programs, and increasing numbers of alumni and industry personnel, now numbering seventy-five, have petitioned against the merger since the announcement of the proposal; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature has provided support for the School of Travel Industry Management by way of funding the renovation of George Hall, the establishment of a research center, and faculty positions, and generous donors have established named facilities and on-going programs within the school; and

 

     WHEREAS, the proposal for reconsolidation does not appear to be justified using the University of Hawaii at Manoa's own criteria regarding budgetary gains or academic benefits to the program or students and will hamper fundraising and diminish the school's ability to successfully negotiate and compete for externally-funded projects and partnerships, which have enhanced the University of Hawaii at Manoa's reputation worldwide; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that the Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa is urged to reconsider the proposal for reconsolidation of the School of Travel Industry Management with the Shidler College of Business Administration, given the factors cited in this resolution; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa is requested to report regarding the criteria used for determining whether the School of Travel Industry Management should be reconsolidated with the Shidler College of Business Administration, and how these criteria were applied in recommending reconsolidation, to the Legislature twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2011; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the President of the University of Hawaii, the Dean of the School of Travel Industry Management, the Dean of the Shidler College of Business Administration, the


University of Hawaii at Manoa Faculty Senate, the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii, and the University of Hawaii School of Travel Industry Management Alumni Association.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

University of Hawaii at Manoa; School of Travel Industry Management