BYU-Hawaii was named one of the most financially fit colleges in the United States. BYUH received a 3.943 financial GPA, which gives the school an A grade, and is numbered 82 out of the 100, says Matt Schifrin, editor of investing, markets and personal finance for Forbes magazine. “This comes as a pleasant surprise as some have felt that our school was ‘inadequate,’” said Raife Campbell, a BYUHSA vice president and a junior in business from Australia. “This shows the world that our little college is more than others have previously thought ‘e laiti ae maigi,’ which is Samoan for, ‘that which is small can cause great effect’.” “I feel like I’m part of something great here,” remarked Nathan Cunningham, a junior in business from Texas. Michael Christensen, BYUH budget and housing director, explained what sets BYUH apart from other college campuses. “Some factors that naturally help us include the support of the church.” Christensen said tithing funding helps keep tuition lower than other comparable schools, especially domestically. Another factor that sets the school apart is the Board of Trustees, which includes the First Presidency of the church, three members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a member of the presidency of the Seventy, the general Relief Society president and the general Young Women’s president, said Christensen. This board carefully discusses what is to be done with the Lord’s money at BYUH, BYU in Provo, BYU in Idaho, Institutes and Seminaries, said Christensen. Different organizations are encouraged by BYUH officials to see where money spending can shift when starting new developments, said Christensen. Then the budget is taken from existing funds and “we are not asking for more,” said Christensen. Forbes “created the FORBES College Financial Grades, which measured the fiscal soundness of more than 900 four-year, private, not-for-profit schools with more than 500 students (public schools are excluded),” says Schifrin. The article describes how the financial grades were given. “For the purposes of our [Forbes] analysis, we used the two most recent fiscal years available from the Department of Education–2011 and 2010. The grades measure financial fitness as determined by nine components broken into three categories,” says Schifrin.
Writer: Tucker Grimshaw~Multimedia Journalist
