Students protest over planned €65 graduation fee
College authorities announced the new fee on April 1, which comes into effect this year.
It will allow the student and two guests to attend their graduation ceremony and the reception afterwards, at which tea, coffee and sandwiches are served.
Students who do not pay will be considered to have chosen to be conferred “in absentia” and won’t be able to attend the ceremony.
Yesterday’s protest on campus was organised by UCC’s Young Fine Gael Society. Another protest is planned for today.
Students were addressed by UCC Students’ Union (SU) president Eoin Hayes, by incoming SU president, Keith O’Brien, and by Senator Jerry Buttimer.
Young Fine Gael urged students to email the college president, Dr Michael Murphy, stating their opposition to the fee.
They also urged students to sign up to the online petition, organised by the Cork Student News’ website, which first highlighted the issue. The petition now has over 2,100 signatories.
The website’s editor, Daniel O’Carroll, said yesterday’s protest showed promising signs that the “conferring fee issue was still very much on the agenda” and he expressed hope that the college would yet consider a U-turn on the fees’ decision.
Mr Buttimer said he has written to Dr Murphy asking him to reconsider the introduction of the fee.
“I would ask the college authorities to look again at the cost of conferrings to see if they can be reduced, and this fee abolished,” he said.
A university spokesman said the fee is being introduced as part of a major cost-cutting exercise.
He said the university has always borne the cost of previous conferrings, which last year topped some €200,000. The fee will just cover the cost of this year’s ceremonies, he added.
Meanwhile, the Union of Students in Ireland has sought a meeting with the Education Minister to discuss the fee issue.
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