- SU President Ryan Bartlett with Trinity Provost, Dr Patrick Prendergast. Bartlett lobbied College authorities for the implementation of the new payment system.
Ronan Costello
Editor
This week College Board approved a motion which will enable students to pay the student contribution charge in two instalments from this September.
Those opting to pay for the charge through instalments will be asked to pay in two halves, €1,125 in September and the remainder before January 31st each year.
The College is expecting to lose a substantial sum of money as a result of the implementation of this new system. In total, the College expects the system to cost €121,250 in reduced income on deposits, staffing costs for processing the second batch of payments and potential bad debts.
The Board approved the motion after a year of lobbying from both the Students’ Union and the Higher Education Authority. SU President Ryan Bartlett had discussed the matter with various College authorities throughout the year, citing the issue as one of great importance to students who were struggling with the annual increases in the contribution charge.
HEA Chief Executive Tom Boland wrote to the College on August 3rd of last year and on a number of previous occasions, urging the College to facilitate the payment of the contribution charge by instalments. Boland cited the fact that other institutions had already implemented such a facility and emphasised his point by saying “it is the view of the HEA that all institutions should have systems in place that allow for the payment of the student contribution in two instalments and you should now take steps to give effect to this.”
However, because Trinity College operates with relative autonomy from the HEA, Boland’s suggestions could have been easily dismissed. Speaking to The University Times, SU President Ryan Bartlett said that the letter was a significant bargaining tool when he raised the issue with College authorities.
On the significance of the news, Bartlett said: “This is something we’ve been working on all year and we’re delighted that this measure has been put in place to help students with the costs of college education. We’re pleased to see that College have recognised that students are struggling to pay the increased upfront charges.”
