College chiefs warn registration fees must rise
COLLEGE chiefs have warned that a huge hike in registration charges -- now €1,500 a year -- is necessary to avert a funding crisis.
The warning came amid fears that the quality of Irish higher education will suffer unless more money is forthcoming.
The Higher Education Authority estimated that €500m would be needed to meet rising demand and ensure that the quality of what was on offer was maintained.
It accepted that the system was facing a funding crisis.
UCC President Dr Michael Murphy yesterday said Irish universities were "very disappointed" by the Government's failure to follow the lead of most Western countries in opting for third-level fees to support university finances. However, he described the existing college registration fee regime as effectively "fees by another name".
Dr Murphy said he anticipated colleges would now look for significant increases in registration fee levels given the financial plight facing them.
"We were disappointed by that decision because we had been doing our planning on the assumption that we would be going down the route of most developed countries over the past two decades," Dr Murphy said.
"On the other hand it is a reality that the government parties have continued the registration fee and they have signalled that they would contemplate raising those fees if necessary and, in a sense, registration fees are fees by another name."
Dr Murphy's comments came as he launched UCC's strategic plan, which aims to consolidate its status as "a world-class university linking our region to the globe".
"The key aim of the plan is to maintain the trajectory that UCC has enjoyed over recent years in providing a very high quality education for the students of this region," he added.
"We also want to grow the internationalisation of the university by attracting even more high-quality international students who will then return to their countries with a very positive attitude to Ireland," he said. "It is imperative we pursue this market more effectively into the future," he explained.
Dr Murphy's comments were last night backed by the president of Dublin City University Dr Ferdinand von Prondzynski. He said the costs of providing the student services were at least 50pc higher than the income from the current charge of €1,500.
- Ralph Riegel and John Walshe
Irish Independent
