Hawai'i's higher education continues to lag behind that of many other states, especially in preparation for college and completion rates, a report out today says.

The report also says Hawai'i's colleges and universities fare well in comparison to other states in affordability.

Measuring Up 2006: The National Report Card on Higher Education is released every two years and measures how well education systems are serving their states. It is conducted by the independent, nonpartisan National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

It compares each state's current performance with its own performance from 1992. States are given A to F grades in six categories: preparation, participation, affordability, completion, benefits and learning.

Compared with 1992, fewer students are enrolling in college by age 19 after graduating from high school, Hawai'i's college students are taking longer to complete their degrees and families are devoting a larger portion of their income so students can attend public four-year colleges in the state.

There is no overall score given to the state, but "the overall concern is that as the well-educated baby boomer population in Hawai'i is retiring, the young population that replaces it doesn't appear to be as well educated," said Jonathan Felder, policy analyst with the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Hawai'i received it's worst grade, D, for affordability. Still, the study points out that colleges and universities in Hawai'i are more affordable than most other states. Only two others — California and Texas — earned higher scores for affordability than Hawai'i. Four other states also received D's; the remaining 43 states were given F's.

"The problem here is not our tuition. Even though the institution provides tuition waivers, that is not enough to offset the fact that Hawai'i doesn't have a state scholarship," said Linda Johnsrud, UH vice president for academic planning and policy.

The criticism follows the first set of across-the-board tuition increases that went into effect this semester and that are expected to double the cost of undergraduate tuition by 2011.

The costs for low- and middle-income students to attend public four-year colleges and universities represent nearly one-third of their annual family income, according to the study.

However, Hawai'i continues to "hold the line" on the affordability of its community colleges.

The state's investment in need-based financial aid is also very low when compared with top-performing states, the study said.

Hawai'i is one of only three states that do not have a state scholarship, Johnsrud said.

As the university phases in its tuition increase over the next five years, tuition waivers are expected to quadruple over the same period, she said, which will likely improve the university's rating in this category.

State Sen. Clayton Hee said the state has taken steps to provide additional financial support, particularly through the B-Plus financial aid program, which he wrote. The B-Plus program, which went into effect this year, allows students to receive extra financial support to attend any of the 10 UH campuses if they graduated from high school with at least a 3.0 grade point average and qualified for the federal free and reduced-lunch program, a common indicator of poverty.

Hawai'i scored C's in the preparation and participation categories, indicating that it lags behind many other states in preparing students to succeed in college, the report says.

The study notes that the chance of Hawai'i students enrolling in college by age 19 has declined by 28 percent over the past 14 years.

Hawai'i State Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen disputed the report's findings, noting that graduation rates have remained relatively the same over the past few years — at about 80 percent.

The report only states that Hawai'i's graduation rates have decreased and did not include any specific number.

"For them to even make a statement like that without even citing the statistics, I find questionable," Knudsen said. "In general, I think we have one of the higher graduation rates in the country."

Kelly Aune, UH-Manoa assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs, said Hawai'i's good economy may be the reason fewer students are opting to attend college or university.

"The general belief is that when there is plentiful work, more students decide to get a job and earn a paycheck than attend school," he said.

Many Hawai'i high school graduates are also seeking to attend college outside of Hawai'i, according to the report. About 31 percent of Hawai'i graduates decide to attend college on the Mainland, the report says.

Hee said it's "fairly difficult to convince students to stay home" when they're given opportunities to go elsewhere.

"I don't think the University (of Hawai'i) helps itself either by languishing in the third tier — a pretty sad commentary on the university policymakers and the administration," Hee said.

Hee noted that UH-Hilo was ranked in the fourth tier in recent U.S. News and World Report national college rankings.

The other key category in the study, completion, looks at the longer time it's taking for college students to earn their degree.

"Only a fair percentage (47 percent) of first-time, full-time college students complete a bachelor's degree within six years of entering college," the report reads.

Aune believes that UH-Manoa students generally have one or two jobs because of the high cost of living in Hawai'i, one reason why many students take longer to graduate.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.