The University of Hawaii is pushing affordability as classes begin, good news for local families worried about college costs and student debt.

• Nearly 50,000 students are enrolled across the 10 UH campuses, with 20,000 at Manoa.
• 70% of undergraduates finish without debt, and 40% pay no tuition at all.
• Manoa is offering $50 million in scholarships, from nursing to engineering, so students can study instead of working extra jobs.
• The system is adding AI training across the curriculum and a new administrator focused on connecting students to real jobs.
• Despite federal research funding cuts hitting universities nationwide, UH raised a record $647 million in outside funding.

Outlook: Community colleges are still taking applications, and the focus this year will be on job-ready training as AI reshapes the workforce.