The Treasurer’s annual report of 2007/2008 records the latest express articulation of Trinity’s financial policy. The position states that ‘responsibility for the billing and collection of all tuition and other fees in the region of €91m from the Higher Education Authority (HEA), Local Authorities, students and others’ is firmly within the purview of the Treasurer’s office and affiliated departments. Their capacity for these duties is demonstrated by the fact the fees successfully processed in 2005/6 totalled €77m and in 2006/7, €81m.
In the Finance Committee’s minutes dated October 1, 2008, it is noted that the HEA advised an ‘increase of two point six per cent to the undergraduate tuition fee for 2008/09 and also the increase in the student registration fee from €825 to €900’ for the purposes of bringing ’the amount contributed by the students more into line with the cost of providing these services.’ But the recorded contribution for 2008 is €575.00. There is a notable discrepancy in the amount registered as student fee income and the fee actually paid. On average, students all over the country have been requested to pay a figure of €1,500, and Trinity is no exception, but the income/expenditure estimates for Trinity 2009 record a student contribution of €593.75. The rest is used to make up reductions in the HEA’s grant to the College.
When one looks at the figures provided in the 2009 estimate for student services one sees that the College got €8,283,371 from the student registration fee. Its expenditure report shows expenses of €9,870,583 on student services.
Trinity claims to have been operating at loss with regard to student fees and corresponding services since 1999 at least. The College say ‘the student charge supports on average up to 80%-85% of the full costs of providing student services. The balance of the funding for the student services in Trinity College is met from income generated by the College.’ According to the Trinity’s figures the deficit incurred between student related income and expense stood at €576,599 in 1999, while it is currently estimated that there will be a deficit of €1,587,212 in 2009. The current estimate would be a saving on last year which settled at a loss of €1,679,189, this would buck the trend of increase that has been gathering momentum since 2001.
One could ask why there has been no significant action to counter this uninterrupted stream of financial loss, but that would be to perpetrate the fallacy which accredits administrations with ends and goals. Administration is all about means and as such leaves a lot of loose ends. There are lax strategies and plans proposed by every purely administrative body but without fail each strategy can be translated into the phrase – Don’t screw up noticeably, and keep going. Yet, even this principle is not a future goal it is an ever present pressure – the means by which they conduct themselves. It is not aims or goals which motivate administration but rather, activity for its own sake and for the benefit of being seen to be active. Administrative ‘achievements’ are no more than the recursive completion of assigned tasks. Administrative failures delay completion, and necessitate repair thus opening the machine to outside scrutiny. There are no phrases which instil more terror in a bureaucrat than the terms ‘departmental review’ or ‘reform’. Hence the national inquiry into the allocation and spending of student registration, proposed by Brian Hayes TD, is at least likely make a few people squirm.
The first item of expenditure included on the report is Examinations for €1,351,000 which is up from €1,280,132 the year before. The cost is to cover examinations which the HEA say are not covered by tuition fees in a similar way that second level students must pay for the cost of their Junior and Leaving Certificate examinations.
The Cost of Registration comes next at €1,435,425. This expense heading includes the cost of registration and the cost of running the Fees, Admissions, and Records offices. The estimates for 2009 present a saving on the actual costs for 2008 that is €1,455,174.
The next three headings are Careers Advisory Service with €883,054 up from €827,026 the year before; Student Health Service €829,085 up from €665,745, and Student Counselling Service with €976,015 up from €942,078.
Capitation is the next heading on the accounts. Capitation is money that students pay for the five capitated bodies in College namely, the Students’ Union, Graduate Students’ Union, Central Societies Committee, Publications, and Dublin University Central Athletics Committee. The capitation grant was €1,170,561 up from €1,152,921. The money is administered by the Capitation Committee chaired by the Senior Dean.
Sports and Recreation receives €436,000 which is down from €533,397 in 2008. This money is separate to the sports centre levy.
The College charges space costs for student services based on space data provided by the Director of Buildings. The costs are based on a per sq meter basis with the unit costs adjusted each year. The charge for 2009 is estimated at €1,498,990 up from €1,455,330 in 2008.
The final heading is Student Services which gets €1,290,453 up from €969,105. This heading can be broken down into sub-headings that is Tutorial Expenses (€697,000), Disability (€79,700), College Deans (€144,000), Day Nursery Grant (€235,277), Accommodation Office (€62,705), Chaplin (€13,000), and Miscellaneous (€173,771).
