More students then ever are enrolling in Hawai'i's community colleges, driven by a sputtering economy that has sent jobless workers in search of new skills and high school graduates in search of cheaper tuition.

UH's seven community colleges have 28 percent more students registered now than they did at the same time last year, an indication that more students want to lock in their position, said John Morton, vice president for community colleges.

It's the single largest annual enrollment increase for the community colleges. Among the other three campuses in the UH system — UH-West O'ahu, UH-Hilo and UH-Manoa — only UH-Manoa has not seen an increase in enrollment for fall, Morton said.

Systemwide, fall enrollment is up more than 16 percent at this point. And what's more, the portion of the student body consisting of local residents is increasing.

"We've never experienced an enrollment demand like this," Morton said. "We were already at record enrollment and it's continuing to go right on up."

And those numbers could increase by the time the fall term begins Aug. 24.

"Money is a significant factor on where students are choosing to go to college," said Farrington High School college career counselor Regan Honda.

She said she has seen more students choosing to go to community college rather than UH-Manoa.

"Money is always a concern for our students, who mostly are on free and reduced lunch," Honda said. "I have students who wanted to go away to the Mainland for school, but because of finances, they're staying home."

BUDGETS SLASHED

Economists call this an opportunity cost — a time when it makes more sense to attend college nearby or go back to school than to stay in the workforce, said Lawrence "Bill" Boyd, a labor economist at UH-West O'ahu.

"People go back to school during a recession and they tend to go to two-year degree programs rather than four-year programs," he said.

Tuition at the community colleges costs $79 per credit hour for Hawai'i residents, or less than $2,000 for a year of study.

As pleased as UH officials are with the enrollment increase, they now are scrambling to keep up and accommodate all those students at a time when their budget is being slashed.

"We're worried that we won't be able to offer the courses," Morton said. "Part of the (enrollment) increase is coming from people trying to deal with the economic downturn by turning themselves around and the solution is to be more educated. We have to be there for our students."

As a whole, the UH system is having to trim its budget by about $74 million per year for the next two years based on Gov. Linda Lingle's latest spending plan announced last week. The state Legislature mandated about $45.6 million in cuts, and Lingle's additional cuts total about $50 million. The cuts will be partially offset by federal stimulus money that will bring in about $22 million.

The place where the cuts likely will be seen is by eliminating positions. For students, that most likely will mean larger class size and fewer course offerings, Boyd said.

"There's really no way to accommodate the growth with these cuts looming," he said. "It will be severe."

LOCAL OPTIONS

Four-year institutions are also benefiting from students looking harder at local options.

Edwina Leung, a Kaiser High School graduate, received a full-ride scholarship to attend UH-Hilo, where she plans to study pharmacy.

She said her decision to stay local has a lot to do with the economy.

College was always in her cards, but most likely as a commuter student at UH-Manoa, she said.

"Money isn't really an issue, but I don't think my parents could have paid for college on the Mainland," Leung said. "Now I don't have to worry about it at all. My parents would have borrowed the money to pay for school, but I didn't want to put that kind of burden on them."

Hawai'i Pacific University is experiencing a double-digit increase in the number of new student registrations, said Scott Stensrud, vice president for enrollment management. And it's coming in a year that officials had anticipated would make gaining new enrollment difficult.

"To have an increase in the number of students this year is very exciting for us," Stensrud said. "We had thought it would be difficult to get more students, but the economic situation has played into that."

HPU revenues depend upon tuition, so an increase in enrollment means more revenue, he said. On average, HPU charges $11,880 annually in tuition.

"There's no doubt that nationwide costs have risen and that factors into students' decision process," Stensrud said. "As they become more cost conscious and value conscious, it's more of an advantage to us."

Charli Knight of 'Aiea Heights had applied to colleges on the Mainland and at home. But it's the University of Hawai'i that got her nod.

The decision came down to costs.

She had been accepted to Washington State in Pullman, Wash. But even with a financial aid package, the tuition, room and board and a meal plan would have been impossible.

She decided to go to UH where tuition will be about $3,500 a year. She plans to live at home to save money.

"I didn't want to put a strain on my parents," Knight said. "It's a really rough time now for my parents. It's all so tight."