Sinéad Baker and Edmund Heaphy
The Provost is set to significantly revise decisions made by the College Finance Committee that approved the introduction of six controversial student levies, The University Times understands. Last week, the committee approved a memorandum proposing the introduction of charges that would have raised more than €700,000 for the College. Only two of the original six charges will be presented for final approval at a College Board meeting tomorrow.
Related Coverage
The Provost relayed his intention to make the significant revisions at a meeting this afternoon with student representatives from the Students’ Union (TCDSU) and the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU). Now, only the €75 fee for diploma ceremonies and the €21 increase in the fee for commencement ceremonies will go ahead. It is understood that the Vice-Provost, the College Treasurer, the College Registrar and the Secretary to the College were also present at the meeting.
The Provost intends to conduct a series of formal consultations in September on the other levies originally proposed in the memorandum with the TCDSU and GSU representatives who sit on the College Board. The TCDSU President, Education Officer and Welfare officer sit on the College Board, along with the President of the GSU.
The charges originally proposed included an increase in the charge for a replacement student ID card from €6 to €20, and the introduction of a flat-rate €250 fee for students sitting supplemental exams, regardless of how many exams they would have to sit. The memorandum also proposed increases in the fee for postgraduate applications and an increase in the fee for replacement diploma and degree parchments.
The proposals were made following a “thorough review of existing charges and potential for raising revenue” by Academic Registry, the memorandum said.
Following the decisions from the Finance Committee, TCDSU launched an email campaign directed at College Board members, encouraging them to consider the implications of improving such measures. The email said that the introduction of the levies would have gone against “the Student Charter the college is supposed to abide by” and would have shown “a blatant disregard for the rights of any student coming into the college”. The email campaign, which was conducted in lieu of expected on-campus protests, saw over 450 emails sent from students to Board members. Speaking to The University Times on the reversal of the decisions and the effect of the email campaign, outgoing TCDSU president, Tom Lenihan, said: “I thank every student who had lobbied on the issue and joined the email campaign. Such efforts make all the difference”.
