Before the Act New Zealand-sponsored Education (Freeedom of Association) Amendment Bill passed, tertiary students were automatically signed up to a students' association when they enrolled at a tertiary institution, and had to apply to opt out if they did not want to join.
The law change means student associations will no longer be able to count on automatic student membership and the funding that goes with it.
"The university is discussing with the Otago University Students' Association how to best provide key services for students in the new Voluntary Student Membership environment," vice-chancellor Harlene Hayne said. However, as talks were ongoing, she could not go into specifics.
OUSA general manager Darel Hall said the association was in discussions as to the possibility of the university funding the association and changing it to a zero-fee model.
"A good university needs its students to have a collective voice for its own good, and senior staff get that. These arrangements are eminently pragmatic, that appeals to most people. It's simple, it's transparent and it's pragmatic," he said.
When asked about the complaint by some students that their fees had been going towards events and facilities they did not use, Mr Hall replied, "You opted to come to university and that's what a university does. And that is actually a perfect answer; it's not trite or belligerent.
"It's just this is the set of things a university does. It does all these things and they're all good and they're all what a university ought to look like."
Although students could opt out, requests to do so had been rare, he said.
"Frankly, Parliament is getting involved in a debate that it really doesn't belong in. It's a university debate, and by university I mean staff, students and people who have got a stake in the university," he said.
Otago Polytechnic Students' Association president Michelle Fidow confirmed it had been in similar discussions with the polytechnic.
"Yes, it's a lot of a blow, but the Bill's been in Parliament for two years, so it's kind of to be expected," she said.
Polytechnic chief operating officer Philip Cullen said it had raised its fees this year to cover the expected costs.
"We have to consider, in terms of all the activities that have been provided by OPSA in the past, which of those activities we want to consider taking over, and which of those activities are, in our view, perhaps not so important. There may be others we want to bolster," he said.
Polytechnic Student Services general manager Matt Carter said although the terms had not been finalised yet, "there will be something like an agreement between the parties".
"The key thing that a students' association provides for an institution like this is a student voice and perspective on decision-making, and advocacy for students.
"To me, that goes to the core of it. We want to see them continue and we need to see them thrive," he said.
- Martin Moore
