Commerce course fees set to soar

Press, 7 October 1987, Page 3

Commerce course fees set to soar

Some commerce students at the University of Auckland may face fees of $3OOO next year. Fees for the master of business administration degree could rise from a maximum of $240 a year to $3OOO for each year of the three-year course. The dean of the faculty of commerce, Professor Alastair MacCormick, said the changed and more high-powered course was in response to marketplace demand. But existing funding would not provide enough staff and computing resources, he said. The degree, M.8.A., was taken part-time by older graduate students, and Professor , MacCormick said he did not see any problem in charging students at “this particular level.”

The increase in fees has been approved by the

University Senate but must still go before the University Council and the University Grants Committee.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Society of Accountants says New Zealanders are paying a high price for the shortage of accountants, as five out of six universities are turning prospective commerce students away. The University of Waikato is the only university not restricting entry to undergraduate courses, although it may have restrictions for 1989.

At the University of Canterbury restrictions have meant that schoolleavers must gain an A bursary to be sure of entry to accountancy. Some students with B bursaries are accepted. Difficulties in attracting

staff to commerce faculties, because of private sector salaries, are given as the main reason for restrictions.

University staff teaching medicine and dentistry were already paid a salary differential and this should be extended to commerce, said the Society of Accountant’s public relations officer, Mr Keith Hambleton, yesterday. Society was paying a high price for not fully responding to the need for more accountants, he said.

“There is competition for graduates, and so firms pay higher prices, which is reflected in the charge-out rates.”

The New Zealand university vice-chancellors have supported the call for a salary differential.