Fee-rise would not help Lincoln — principal

Press, 28 August 1980, Page 20

Fee-rise would not help Lincoln — principal

Lincoln College and the Universid’ of Otago would get “the worst end of the stick” in a move to set common under-graduate course fees at universities, said the principal of Lincoln College (Professor J. D. Stewart). He told the Lincoln College Council on Tuesday that the college had the highest fee structure. If a fee of $lBO was set for under-grad-uate courses, the College’s would rise only 6 per cent, while other universities would get a 30 or 40 per cent increase. The decision to aim for uniform fees had been made at a meeting with the chairman of the University Grants Committee (Dr A. T. Johns). An earlier requirement of the committee that universities increase their income from fees by 15 per cent had been reinterpreted. Since the college already had the highest fee structure it would have been impossible to achieve uniform fees and have the 15 per cent increase on which the college’s block grant had been based, Prof. Stewart said. A new schedule of subject fees approved by the council for 1981 would give “something like” a 15 per cent increase next year. The decision to aim for a

common fee would mean that fee rises after next year would be smaller. But Professor Stewart said he had “strongly” pointed out that it would cost the university; possibly $20,000 a year during the quinquennium. He said it would be more simple and equitable to have common fees for under-grad-uate courses. Because fees were onlv a small part of the cost of university courses it was difficult to make a case for variations in fees. The cost of Lincoln College courses was about $4OOO a student but fees

'only amounted to about $2OO. The cost of running | medical courses at Otago .University was about $BOOO, I while fees charged were onlv $2OO or $3OO. Sir E. K. Stephenson asked what was the point in. charging fees at all. There was a complex administrative structure, because fees were charged out and paid for by bursaries in most cases. Professor Stewart said that 75 per cent of fees were covered by bursaries. Next year students would pay only 25 per cent of the 15 per cent increase.