Jack Leahy
News Editor
Students registering as sophistors for the forthcoming academic year will be required to pay an extra €114 ‘commencements charge’ by Friday September 1st.
The extra charge, agreed upon by College board at the end of the 2011/12 academic year, will be paid by incoming third and fourth-year students of four-year degrees to cover costs associated with graduation ceremonies.
The timing of this revelation is likely to prove troublesome; students have until Friday of this week to fund this previously unaccounted-for registration payment. Those who logged into the new GeneSIS student information system in response to an email from the Head of Academic Registry were among the first to notice the addition to their invoice.
Until yesterday evening, no information was available on the relevant sections of the College website to indicate that students would have to face this charge.
Questions arise, once more, over College’s propensity to communicate effectively. However, it must also be noted that the SU President has a seat on Finance Committee and the outgoing President would have been aware of the charge’s pending introduction before leaving office in July.
The charge had previously been paid in a lump-sum in the period between a final-year student’s exams and the graduation ceremony in the following Michaelmas Term.
It is understood that persistent difficulties in collecting the lump-sum fee from graduands prompted the Treasurer’s Office to restructure the payment of the charge and make it compulsory for students upon registration for both of their final two years of College.
The total cost to sophistor students for the academic year is now €2,449: the €2,250 student contribution charge, €114 for commencemets, a €77 sports centre levy, and an €8 Union of Students in Ireland membership fee.
The University Times became aware of the charge on Friday night, when a number of students made contact with the Communications officer of the Students’ Union to voice concerns over their capacity to meet the payment.
Students in receipt of a grant qualify for a waiver on their contribution fee at registration, but this is dependent on their payment of all other charges and levies.
Speaking to this reporter, current SU President Rory Dunne expressed disappointment that many students had not been made aware of this new upfront charge prior to the opening of registration. However, he went on to add that “the new payments system will ensure more transparency in the system and mean students will not be hit with an unexpected charge after they graduate. We will work with College to ensure that in the future, the upmost emphasis is placed on ensuring students are given adequate notice of any changes to the payments system”.
