Sin Boards

Hi,

Attached you'll find a document outlining the proposed increases in postgraduate fees which were recommended by the Finance/Resource Committee on Tuesday last for approval by Údarás na hOllscoile next week.

Needless to say, NUI, Galway Students' Union is very unhappy with the increases being proposed by the University. The proposals have been drawn up without taking any account of the following:

- The direct decrease in the value of fellowships caused by any increase in fees. The University has not indicated it has any intention to increase fellowships in line with the fee increase;
- Even if fellowships were to increase, the income cap of €12,700 imposed by the Department of Education and Science would most likely be breached, meaning students qualifying for a Higher Education Grant ("local authority grant") would lose out on grant funding;
- That despite assurances from the University that the above would be investigated, the cap is beyond the control of the University and in seeking to raise it, the University would effectively be seeking further funding from the Exchequer (albeit in a roundabout way), which is extremely unlikely to happen;
- The impact this will have, in particular, on students studying in the arts/humanities area, who already struggle to source funding of any sort, in a system increasingly driven by research in the sciences;
- The fact that NUI, Galway has traditionally attracted students (who would otherwise have gone to UCD/TCD) because of its lower fees;
- The service in the University has not improved in any significant manner in recent times which may merit a higher fee;
- That even though the main justification being offered is that NUI, Galway has fallen behind the sector, fee increases of 9% and 7% occurred in 2003/04 and 2004/05 respectively with a fee increase of 10% already agreed for 2005/06, despite annual inflation rates running at 2-3% during the same period.

Indeed, further investigation will, no doubt, highlight other issues which I have not raised here.

We in NUI, Galway Students' Union are not opposed to the idea of increasing incoming funding into the University. However, the full range of issues arising from these increases have not been reviewed, with the potential increase in revenue being the only driver. This is not a sufficiently thorough process by which to decide on such significant increases in postgraduate fees.

Please review the attached documentation (paying particular attention to the right-hand columns) and I will endeavour to contact you in advance of the meeting next week to discuss this matter further.

Regards,
Paddy.

This is absolutely ridiculous and will further lead to Arts students funding the sciences which already get a huge whack of private funding i.e. massive new biochem building ordinary students are not allowed into and a restaurant they can't eat in.

I can't believe I wasted all those hours at faculty meetings with Jim Marshall last year listening to how the uni was going to raise its research profile. Exactly how? Raising postgrad costs to E4,250 for an M. Litt? All arts students get is access to a library they can't use and computer suites they can't access at night when they're finished their day jobs that feed them. Lets not forget the monthly meeting with the supervisor who can only recommend that you buy the books as the library can't.

Here here! So what can the ordinary Joe Postgrad do to help?

Staff already have a their own club or whatever in the Quad, not that I begrudge them it, simply that building a huge biochem building that has no use (to my knowledge) to anyone other than postgrad biochem students was I think a bit unfair. Especially since it involved an awful lot of (our) public money.

For postgrad fees only two years of a masters and one year of a doctorate are paid by the council. Well as to opportunities for Arts postgrad funding they are miniscule in comparison to those offered to Science I think there is only one NUIG fellowship or whatever its called in philosophy for example (two in history for me). GOI scholarships try to interest foreigners to take an interest in Irish Affairs as well but I think theres only 40 grants (for the country if memory serves) in total anyway.

Now I wouldn't say you pay nada for your book purchases ie E4,250. I'm not a postgrad anyway just to let you know, but am an embittered undergrad.

Do they have something in the Quad? I thought that Moffats was instead of that, but I could be wrong. I'd be interested to find out.

a huge biochem building that has no use (to my knowledge) to anyone other than postgrad biochem students was I think a bit unfair. Especially since it involved an awful lot of (our) public money.