6 October 1992 Bid to Alter Lincoln Fee Structure Fails

A student-led move to have Lincoln University Council overturn its August decision which favoured a differentially based fee structure for 1993 failed today. (Tues. 6 Oct.)

Voting 9-7 against the introduction of a flat fee for all degree and diploma courses, Lincoln's Council again showed a preference for the arguments of cross-subsidisation and a differentiation between Study Right and Non-Study Right.

Although a quorum was present at the August meeting, the Students Association and some Council members felt the issue of fees was so important that a full Council should be present to deliberate the matter. Chancellor Sir Allan Wright accepted the point and the Council voted to re-open the issue, debate it, and vote once again with all members in attendance.

Student president Kristine Potter said many students had come to her office after the August decision concerned about the fees for 1993. Her "professional position" as student leader demanded she seek a re-hearing of the matter.

Among her arguments she pointed out that the Education Amendment Act required Councils to ensure that "institutions do not discriminate unfairly against anyone". A fee structure which was deliberately high at the top-end to provide a lower fee at the other end through cross­-subsidisation was tantamount to such discrimination, she said.

Lincoln's fees are structured in three bands from a low of $1064 to a high of $1904. Academic Registrar Roger Smyth, who attended the meeting to speak on the intricacies of the fee-setting system, said the banding was based on a partial reflection of the true cost of delivery and a relatively high element of subsidisation across course categories and from Study Right to Non-­Study Right.

Picking up the students' equity argument the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bruce Ross, said this could be argued from either end. With the banding system some cost pressure was present at the upper end of the scale, but flattening out everything would apply pressure to the lower end "and we would end up discriminating against the financially borderline student who makes a decision on fees alone."

Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Sykes made a strong plea for the flat fee based on the need to keep the cost of Lincoln's science degrees as competitive as possible. The cross­-subsidisation element lifted science degree fees significantly and a continuation of the differential system would make the future for science at Lincoln "very bleak", he warned.

A gallery of students attended the meeting to support their two representatives on the Council – Kristine Potter and Vice-President Justin Ryan. They departed disappointed at the outcome. Soon after a lone student abseiled past the 8th floor Council Room window registering a final shouted protest.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.