Probe called into soaring student fees

The Government is to probe whether skyrocketing non-academic fees for university and polytech students are being used to dodge its restrictions on course fee increases, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce said yesterday.

But Canterbury University - which has hiked its non-academic charges by more than 600 per cent - openly says the increase is a response to the Government's fee caps and "inadequate" funding.

Speaking at Victoria University yesterday Mr Joyce noted a number of universities and polytechs had made "very significant" increases in compulsory levies for students which cover services such as student health, counselling and vocational guidance.

He had some concerns, prompted by correspondence from students, around the fees being charged for building maintenance and libraries which had previously been core services covered by course fees.

He planned to take a close look at the charges and would write to the University Vice-Chancellors' Committee and polytechnic organisations to lay out his concerns.

"In the meantime I would urge universities and polytechnics to tread carefully with these compulsory add-ons."

He was open minded as to whether the increases were legitimate but warned regulation of those fees, as in Australia, was "always a possibility".

He did not want to see recent big increases continue or "you might be tempted to believe people are avoiding fee regulation by charging in another way".

At present university and polytech course or tuition fee increases are capped at 4 per cent a year under a "fee maxima".

Asked whether the non-academic fee increases were a backdoor way around that limit, Mr Joyce said: "You could say that - a cynic might say that." But Canterbury University, which has hiked its non-academic charges from $85 last year to $600 this year, says its increase is at least partly due to the fee cap. The cap on fees and on the funding universities received from the Government meant revenue had been falling in real terms for years, it says on its website.

"Inadequate government funding for the tertiary sector is threatening to erode the quality of a university qualification," it said, and asked students to "see the new levy as a means of preserving their long-term interests".

New Zealand Students Association president David Do said students were pleased Mr Joyce was looking into the fee increases.

While students valued the services the fees were charged for, they were concerned about a lack of transparency around how they were actually used.

"Often there's not much information on where that money goes, whether it's ring-fenced for particular services or goes into the general pool."

Mr Do also said legislation currently being considered by the Government which would effectively make membership of a student union voluntary could increase upward pressure on non-academic fees by forcing tertiary institutions to assume responsibility for services unions could no longer fund.

Mr Joyce yesterday acknowledged that was a possibility.

SOARING ADD-ONS
Non-academic fees:

Auckland University
* 2010: $542
* 2009: $422

AUT
* 2010: $360
* 2009: Zero

Canterbury University
* 2010: $600
* 2009: $85

Victoria University
* 2010: $510
* 2009: $276