There was no rise in the student service charge in the budget this year. In last month’s budget the Minister for Finance left the student service charge (registration fee) unchanged at €1,500. 

The Irish Independent reported that a confidential government document which it had seen showed the government recently considered hiking the charge by as much as €1,000. An increase by this much would raise an extra €54m. 

The 2009 budget allowed the registration fee to be increased from €900 to €1,500 in colleges for the 2009/2010 academic year.

The government sets a maximum registration fee and after consulting the Higher Education Authority (HEA) each college sets its own fee.  

The student service charge has been had some attention in the last couple of months the Joint Education and Science committee heard that only a third of Trinity’s student service charge for 2008/09 academic year was spent on student services. The accounts produced by Trinity College were sent to the chairman of the education committee and Green party TD Paul Gogarty.

The student service charge is supposed to be ring fenced for student services, exams, and registration. 

In a letter to Gogarty explaining Trinity SU’s argument on the student service charge Cónán Ó Broin, Students’ Union President, says that the Minister for Education is on record saying that the student service charge is ‘solely for the provision of student services.’

The student service charge was introduced in 1996 when the Government started to pay tuition fees. A charge of £150 was paid by students for services, registration, and examinations. 

The Department for Education circular on the student service charge says that examination and registration fees have always been regarded as a separate issue. ‘Second level students pay an examination fee for sitting the Junior and Leaving Certificate examination,’ the circular says.

The estimates for 2009 say that the College collected €8,283,371 from student service charge. The estimates also indicate that the College budgeted €1,351,000 for examinations and €1,435,425 on the costs of registration for 2009.

The budget also made changes for those start college next year and who qualify for the back-to-education allowance. Those who are entitled to receive the allowance will no longer be eligible for a grant.

Previously, those who received a back-to-education allowance were also allowed claim a grant and apply for the top-up grant. 

Trinity College Students’ Union’s Mature Student Officer, Simone Cameron-Coen said the government ‘wants to encourage people off social welfare and back to education and training, by pulling much needed funding from the poorest part of society they are actively discouraging a return to education.’

The amount of the grants and scholarships were reduced by five per cent. It will apply to all incoming and current students from January 2010. These measures will achieve a €10m saving for the state.