TCD faces €10m deficit over State funding cutbacks

Sparks

Wonderful. As if the last year wasn't bad enough...

From the Irish Independent:

TRINITY College Dublin has warned it is facing a €10m deficit by the end of next year unless the Government reverses funding cutbacks.

The deepening financial crisis for third-level colleges is already plunging Dublin City University, NUI Maynooth and University College Cork into the red this year. Trinity avoided a deficit this year by cost-cutting and dipping into departmental reserves, but is predicting a serious deterioration in its financial position in 2005. The college has formally notified the Higher Education Authority (HEA), the statutory body responsible for funding of third-level institutions, of its looming deficit.

A major controversy over State funding for universities was sparked last year when the Government effectively cut grants to universities by 10pc-11pc, a shortfall of €800 per student. Trinity reckons that when the cost of meeting additional pay costs arising from the benchmarking process this year is included, the State grant of about €72m represents a cut of €8m on 2003. At a recent board meeting the question of borrowing funds from self-financing activities currently in surplus was considered, but the meeting was advised that the repayment of the loans would become a long-term liability.

Education Minister Noel Dempsey pared back funding to the colleges this year partly in the belief that they are not as cost-effective as they should be and that they are sitting on untapped financial resources.

Love that last bit - "untapped financial resources". Wonder what he meant? Selling off college buildings? Hiking up capitation fees? Setting up www.kinkytrinitycollegecoeds.com?

ecksor

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deRanged

UCC is 9 million in the hole - and they're cutting back all over the gaff already.

I think the untapped financial resources are the students.
They'll (imho) increase charges anywhere they can.
One thing they are doing here is increasing PhD submission fees - currently 700 euro, (soon to be 10% onto the 'normal' fees each year),
Plus if you're over the 9 terms and using college facilities you must now pay the full whack. So formerly you paid full fees for the first 3 years then just a small fee each year, while you were writing up - not any more. I was hoping to do that next year but not now I guess.

Sparks

Originally posted by ecksor
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Give it time....

Nike_Dude

I'd love to know where all the money TCD makes from the book of kells and library shop goes? The place is always packed! anyone know what happens this money??

honeymonster

As far as I know they spend loads on mandatory enunciation classes to get all students speakin proper English. Eg Im freezing my orase off so lets get the dort and go to a beer garden and pick up some chicks, yea know like? I do orts.

Atreides

Originally posted by Nike_Dude
I'd love to know where all the money TCD makes from the book of kells and library shop goes? The place is always packed! anyone know what happens this money??

Who you kidding mate. they make money off the book of kells? sure they do, they most be rolling in it.

Sparks

Originally posted by Nike_Dude
I'd love to know where all the money TCD makes from the book of kells and library shop goes? The place is always packed! anyone know what happens this money??

Far as I know, it feeds into the Library fund. These revenue streams don't all feed into a central fund you see.
Like the Pavillion bar, for example - it had a million-euro turnover last year and the profit went into the sports department and made up shortfalls in the capitation grant (and went to pay for the twenty-odd grand's worth of damage the Rugby club did to the place :rolleyes: and the damage from a fire or two). So the grants to sports clubs didn't fall as far as they might have.

Nike_Dude

Far as I know, it feeds into the Library fund. These revenue streams don't all feed into a central fund you see.

Well they could feed some of it into a decent heating system in the Berkley library, the place is freezing at the best of times

Sparks

Originally posted by Nike_Dude
Well they could feed some of it into a decent heating system in the Berkley library, the place is freezing at the best of times

Well, apart from the condensation-from-heating-damaging-the-books reason, there's the why-bother-they're-only-arts-students-anyway reason

strawberry

One of the law lecturers went off and raised lots of money for the law school, and now she's putting it in a trust where Trinity can't touch it - we'll still be able to afford to have reading lists photocoopied, yay!

vinks

oddly enough, the hpc dept. in the oreilly institute in tcd just got a new cluster of opterons, and a loan of a vector machine and lots of other new gear. but most of it is external corp. funding from what i can see.

leeroybrown

Unfortunately all the colleges are getting very heavily hit.

I went to NUI Galway and they're currently implementing a 15% budget cut across the board because of the funding reduction. The majority of the development plan is on hold too as there is no funding coming from the government even when there is private investment available for matching.

Druid

Originally posted by vinks
oddly enough, the hpc dept. in the oreilly institute in tcd just got a new cluster of opterons,

Ah thats what is making the ORI so bloody hot. Its like a sauna most days.



- Dru, waiting for shiney new building next door to open.

vinks

Originally posted by Druid
Ah thats what is making the ORI so bloody hot. Its like a sauna most days.



- Dru, waiting for shiney new building next door to open.

afaik the new opteron cluster is in the ORI, which isnt too big or hot the iitac is in the old hamilton building in the basement