Feb 28, 2017 11:44 AM EST By Audri Taylors, UniversityHerald Reporter

To reverse the decline in their enrollment, the University of Hawaii is attracting more mainland students who are paying for higher tuition. In fact, 29 percent of the students in their flagship campus Manoa are non-residents.

The constant increase with the tuition and college costs on the mainland seems to be driving the students to UH, Hawaii News Now reported. This could be the solution to the university's decline with their enrollment.

The students in Hawaii pay about $11,000 per year for their tuition, and even if the costs of higher education has continued to rise in the previous years, it is still significantly lower compared to the colleges and universities in the mainland.

Ryan Yamaguchi, associate director of admissions said that the University of Hawaii is ranked as one of the most affordable institution across the United States and also recognized as an affordable institution over the past several years.

April Inouye, a counselor at Kalaheo High School, said that because the cost of college is increasing every single year, and some families find the cost of mainland education to be something that is very hard to reach, some students would just prefer to stay home in Hawaii.

This is also a reason why Hawaii education cost is a driver for the state. According to Civil Beat, one of five students who are attending Manoa campus during the last semester was actually from the mainland.

Sen. Kai Kahele, chair of the Higher Education Committee is looking forward to seeing more students coming from the mainland to enroll at UH so that ethnic diversity on campus will be increased. He also wants to provide more opportunities for students to establish relationships and connections with people from other places.

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