Course Fees

D3UC3 J3

Found out today that I have been accepted into DCU this september to do Computer Applications as a mature student.

Question is: Do i have to pay full fees or not?

I went to a fee paying college for two years after my leaving cert and had to pay my own fees. I didn't finish this course as it wasn't for me and have been working for the last 2 years.

I never had anything paid by the free fees initiative or govt or whoever or whatever it is.

I found this page on StudentFinance.ie relating to fees but it doesn't make it clear whether I'll have to pay or not.

Student Finance .ie - Course Fees

A bit more defined here on citizens information

Citizens Information - Third Level Fees

Still not 100% on yay or nay though.

Thanks to Myth for the helpful pages!

smashey

Check Myth's sig.

D3UC3 J3

Hi D3UC3 J3,

First of all you've hit on something which is not very well defined anywhere, and before reading further you should keep in mind that you should contact the Department of Education directly since they're the only ones who can give you the complete answer. However, knowing this, let's move on

For grants, the regulations state (I'm going somewhere with this):

http://www.education.ie/servlet/blobservlet/support_higher.doc?language=EN

3.3 Candidates, who having attended but not successfully completed an approved course, are returning following a break of at least five years in order to pursue an approved course at the same level in the 2007/08 academic year (i.e. Second Chance Students).

So, following this logic, you get your fees paid for if you're eligible for a grant. However, that's not to say that you won't get your fees paid for.

In the link you've found, citizensinformation.ie says...

Free fees do not apply to courses in private colleges, whether they have Higher Education and Training Awards Council approval or not.

and...

* You must be an EU national or have official refugee status and
* You must have been living in the EU (this includes any of the accession states) for at least 3 of the 5 years before starting your course and
* You must be undertaking a full-time undergraduate course of at least 2 years duration and
* You must not have a previous qualification to the same level (Students who hold a National Certificate or Diploma and are progressing to degree courses may be eligible) and
* You must not be repeating the year (although this exclusion may be waived where a student has to repeat a year due to certified serious illness)

Which would imply, I'd guess, that since free fees don't apply to your situation. However, something being implied isn't always the case.

So, going on memory, I think I remember asking in years gone by that if you went to a private college, dropped out, and then went to a public college, you don't have to pay fees (i.e. you're eligible for free fees). But, as you've noticed, there's nothing written down really saying this for certain.

If you have to pay, you would only have to pay for the years you did previously. It might get a little more complicated since it depends what level you were pursuing previously (and if you're progressing you should be OK, if you were doing a degree you may have to pay for the two years).

BUT (an obviously big but) my answer is that I don't know. Going back to the first paragraph, the only answer you'll find is with the Dept. of Education, or else the Student Support Unit who answer some queries relating to fees/grants for students.

Info here:

The Student Support Unit,
Department of Education and Science,
Portlaoise Road,
Tullamore,
Co. Offaly
Tel: (0506) 21363 or (01) 8734700
E-mail: StudentSupportUnit-Tullamore@education.gov.ie

I'd ring them, don't e-mail.

So that's my convoluted non-informative answer . The best thing is to give them a quick bell tomorrow just to be sure.

Either way, congrats at your decision at going back to college!

All the best,

Dónal

D3UC3 J3 wrote: »

Found out today that I have been accepted into DCU this september to do Computer Applications as a mature student.

Question is: Do i have to pay full fees or not?

I went to a fee paying college for two years after my leaving cert and had to pay my own fees. I didn't finish this course as it wasn't for me and have been working for the last 2 years.

I never had anything paid by the free fees initiative or govt or whoever or whatever it is.

I found this page on StudentFinance.ie relating to fees but it doesn't make it clear whether I'll have to pay or not.

Student Finance .ie - Course Fees

A bit more defined here on citizens information

Citizens Information - Third Level Fees

Still not 100% on yay or nay though.

Thanks to Myth for the helpful pages!

D3UC3 J3

I got onto the fees section of The Student Support Unit in Department of Education and Science.

They said that as I was entitled to claim tax relief on my first two years of the previous degree in the private college, that was government intervention and I won't be entitled to free fees for my first two years in DCU.

This is whether I claimed tax relief or not.

Which peeves me very much so...as I didn't!

I had to drop out in the first place as I didn't have enough time to study and work part time to pay for the course anyway!

I won't get a grant either as I'm living at home with my parents.

Maybe they won't notice come September...? We live in hope!

I suppose this is highly ignorant but I'll get it off my chest anyway "I pay my taxes so pay my fees like you do for everyone else".... ahhh feel better now!

Anyway if Donal or anyone else can shed more light it'd be greatly appreciated.

D3UC3 J3

D3UC3 J3 wrote: »

I got onto the fees section of The Student Support Unit in Department of Education and Science.

They said that as I was entitled to claim tax relief on my first two years of the previous degree in the private college, that was government intervention and I won't be entitled to free fees for my first two years in DCU.

This is whether I claimed tax relief or not.

Which peeves me very much so...as I didn't!

I had to drop out in the first place as I didn't have enough time to study and work part time to pay for the course anyway!

I won't get a grant either as I'm living at home with my parents.

Maybe they won't notice come September...? We live in hope!

I suppose this is highly ignorant but I'll get it off my chest anyway "I pay my taxes so pay my fees like you do for everyone else".... ahhh feel better now!

Anyway if Donal or anyone else can shed more light it'd be greatly appreciated.

Hey again D3UC3 J3,

Sorry to hear that, but I'm unsure what else can be said about this since you've received the official line on this. It might be worth getting in contact with the Council/VEC where you live as there are plans for changes to be put in place to the grant system, although this is looking like it'll start to come into force next year (2009/10 academic year).

The only thing is that if you are finding it difficult to survive in college, you should keep in mind that there does exist a confidential fund called the Student Assistance Fund in every college which, although not bottomless, could help you out with a small bit of cash if times get tight. As I said, it mightn't be a lot but it might help.

Dónal

D3UC3 J3

Thanks Donal,

Yeah I saw that while browsing through all the info you have in other threads.

I should be grand this time round. I have been working full time for 2 years and it will translate into quite a good part time job when i start back to college.

Minimum wage of a part time job trying to pay for books, food, travel and the student loan outweighed the good of actually doing the course last time.

Shouldn't be the case this time though, even if I have to pay for the first two years I'm really looking forward to it.