UCDSU Might be calling a referendum on fees.

errlloyd

UCD Students’ Union President, Pat de Brún, has announced his intention of putting a motion to SU Council that would call for a referendum regarding the Union’s stance on free education and free fees.

Should the motion pass Council, UCD students would have to decide whether to change the SU’s current stance of being in favour of free education to one in favour of, for example, a loans or graduate tax system.

De Brún explained that he would like the referendum to go ahead as the Student Contribution Charge, formerly the Registration Fee, may no longer be the best option available to students.

“When the Student Contribution [Charge] was €1,000 or €1,500, that probably was better than any of the other options on the table, but it’s risen and risen and become extremely unaffordable for any UCD student and many students across the country. I have a feeling we may have reached that tipping point.”

At the last Union of Students in Ireland (USI) Council, de Brún proposed that a feasibility report be prepared, investigating other potential options available to students apart from the current Student Contribution Fee. If the referendum goes ahead, an information campaign will be launched by the SU, examining the various options available and their respective positive and negative aspects.

De Brún began considering the idea following the announcement of the 2012 budget, in particular reflecting on what exactly the student movement was achieving by pursuing a free education policy.

“There was always going to be a point where if the student contribution kept going up, it may not be the best option for students anymore. We need to look at it somewhat pragmatically now and say is there any chance that fully free fees will happen over the coming years, I think that it’s looking increasingly unlikely.”

De Brún praised the various campaigns held over the past number of years, but admitted that ultimately, the contribution was still raised. “I think that we’ve had excellent campaigns over the last couple of years, I think we’ve fought tooth and nail and still we see increases to the student contribution.”

Among the various funding options examined will be a graduate tax, a loan scheme, upfront fees as well as the current Student Contribution Charge.

All other universities in Ireland currently have a stance supporting free education.

I'd say the chances are they'll allow this referendum, its hard to justify not running it. I'd suggest many of you fb your reps and ask them to support it. I think if it runs I will be involved.

Fad

Sadly I'm not allowed get involved in campaigns*, but this is one of two referendums I am very much supportive of.

*I am very much happy about this, it's a great excuse >_>

Witcher

He's changed his stance a bit....for all his roaring and interrupting of lectures he lay down in defeat pretty quickly.

errlloyd

Well he has to represent his mandate, which for some time has been free fees. For anyone who saw him debate on the issue at the L&H event you'd see both him and the rep from USI were struggling to find the funding.

I think he's done a tough thing here, but ultimately I think he'll win the referendum. I do welcome to chance to make the case though.

Fad

Wait til FEE get involved...

Cant wait for two groups to insist that they represent the majority view of students

HavingCrack

Upfront fees is pretty much a non-runner, it's the worst possible solution.

A government backed loan scheme similar to the UK is a lot more feasible and a lot fairer, both financially and socially. Everyone is on a level playing field starting out, might see a cull in the 'silly' courses also.

._.

HavingCrack wrote: »

A government backed loan scheme similar to the UK is a lot more feasible and a lot fairer, both financially and socially. Everyone is on a level playing field starting out, might see a cull in the 'silly' courses also.

I'd love to see what effect that would have on CAO points, certain courses like science and physio would probably go way up, and things like arts would go way down, the whole thing would be more based on "what'll get me the best job the quickest" instead of "what would I like to study" (or w/e) like it's more or less based on now.

beardedmaster

HavingCrack wrote: »

Upfront fees is pretty much a non-runner, it's the worst possible solution.

A government backed loan scheme similar to the UK is a lot more feasible and a lot fairer, both financially and socially. Everyone is on a level playing field starting out, might see a cull in the 'silly' courses also.

I re-he-heaaally don't want to start controversy with this - but which are the "silly" courses? I am genuinely just curious on the matter, and wonder what people think, I'm not trying to offend anyone and I'm sure I won't be offended myself...

kev9100

It really depends on how the referendum is worded. If it gives options and isn't just a straight yes/no vote I think it would be a good thing.

PrincessLola

beardedmaster wrote: »

I re-he-heaaally don't want to start controversy with this - but which are the "silly" courses? I am genuinely just curious on the matter, and wonder what people think, I'm not trying to offend anyone and I'm sure I won't be offended myself...

the 'silly' courses are a matter of opinion, depends on what you consider an 'education', whether the role of a uni ought to be just a training school for jobs or not.

Pandoras Twist

I think the role of university should be to give a well rounded education to prepare you for your working life and geared towards training for and finding jobs.

At the risk of sounding callous, if the end result of your 3 year degree is that you can have interesting dinner conversation then you should pay for that benefit.

Overall I think there should be a graduate tax as I think it might be less discouraging than a loan scheme. My degree has enabled me to be in a position to earn quite a high wage, probably for the rest of my life. I don't think this was owed to me.




There are so many people I know who went to college because it was just the next stage after secondary. They did an arts degree in a subject they were good at in school and they hated it and dropped out. I'm not trying to simply focus on arts degrees, but I think people would put more thought into the process if they would eventually have to pay for it.

I think the referendum on fees is an excellent decision. It shows an acknowledgement of the situation we are in and perhaps we can get some involvement in the practicalities of designing/operating the system.

Pacifist Pigeon

There are some serious argument for the reintroduction of fees though. Those voices should be given a chance to make their opinions known and for the student body to make a decision on whether they reject them or not.

My personal opinion is that the state (in general) only serves as a hindrance to the quality of education. I believe in quality, not quantity. The quality of education should be a greater priority than the quantity in education.