University introduces graduation fee of €65
University College Cork (UCC) said the fee will have to be paid by any student wishing to attend this year’s graduation ceremonies – the summer conferrings in June, the autumn conferrings in September and the winter conferrings in December.
It will be the first time in 100 years of UCC graduations that students will have to pay to attend the ceremony. The fee will allow the student and two guests to attend their event and the reception afterwards.
A spokesperson for the university defended the move and pointed out that the cost of all previous conferrings has been borne by the university. The cost of last year’s graduations was some €200,000, he said.
“In the past two years in particular, UCC has been faced with a severe financial crisis and its core exchequer funding has been reduced,” he said.
“It has resulted in the most severe cost-cutting exercise ever witnessed across all departments, college and faculties, in an attempt to manage the finances of what is a huge organisation.”
That exercise examined all of the university’s costs, including the conferrings.
He said the issue was first raised with the Students’ Union late last year and the figure mentioned was €80.
But following a proposal from the union, the conferring’s catering budget was revised downwards.
“The fee now being proposed will cover the university’s costs. There will be no element of profit,” he said.
UCC Students’ Union president Eoin Hayes said the fee will have a “serious impact” on already hard-pressed students.
“This fee has been introduced as a direct result of the policies being pursued by this Government in relation to third-level education, which have seen core grants to third-level institutions cut by between 23% and 27%,” he said.
College authorities wrote to the students’ union late on Wednesday night and confirmed the €65 fee will be introduced this year.
“Only students eligible for conferring who have paid the conferring charge will receive their conferring information pack, including tickets to attend the conferring ceremony and reception with their two guests,” the letter said.
Students who do not pay the charge will be considered to have chosen to be conferred “in absentia” and will not be able to attend the ceremony, it said.
“Parchments for students conferred in absentia will be posted to their college-registered home address following the conferring ceremonies,” the letter states.
More details will be made available by the authorities before the summer conferrings, including the deadline for payment of the conferring charge, the letter said.
Mr Hayes said the graduation fee was one of several issues discussed at the Union of Students in Ireland congress yesterday.
Trinity College introduced a €120 graduation fee some years ago and UCD has introduced a €20 charge to see a nurse on campus, and a €40 charge to see a doctor.
“There is virtually nothing we can do but continue to lobby,” Mr Hayes said.
