Jack Leahy | News Editor
Trinity College Dublin plans to establish a new legal entity to avoid tax on profits generated by its new online education division, The University Times can reveal. A proposal outlining the rationale for the new entity – which will be known as ‘“Trinity Dublin Online” – was approved by the College board on November 5th.
The proposal also involves a comprehensive set of financial projections, which project that the College stands to earn up to €1million per annum from the venture by 2020/21. The projection is based on an initial investment of €2.1million and the recruitment of 1,000 online-only students in 19 courses by 2019/20.
The expansion of the College’s online offerings is a high-level objective of the 2014-19 strategic plan and is lead by Associate Dean of Online Education Professor Timothy Savage.
The establishment of the new company limited by guarantee would allow the College to seek charitable status from the Revenue Commissioners, given that the objectives of the company would support those of the College. Approval for charitable designation, which the proposal claims “should be available”, would exempt College’s online teaching from paying tax on tuition fees received.
In order to arrange effectively for the tax-free transfer of funds between the new company and the College it may be necessary that students pay fees directly to the College, who would in turn reimburse the company for “services rendered”.
As a distinct legal entity, it is possible that Trinity Dublin Online would be allowed to circumvent the public sector Employment Control Framework (ECF), which restricts the number of staff who can be hired from exchequer funding.
“Trinity Dublin Online” will target Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses and a range of postgraduate qualifications. Certificate students will pay €3,500, diploma students €5,500 per annum, while masters students will pay up to €10,000. Courses will be “sponsored” by a member of academic staff from the relevant School.
Prof. Savage’s appointment as Associate Dean in 2013 was the catalyst for the development of online teaching strategies, which also include Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the integration of learning technology in the College’s everyday teaching activities.