University fee boost feared

University of Otago students face the prospect of a 4% hike in their 2012 tuition fees - the second year in a row the maximum increase possible has been considered.

University Council members will today consider whether to approve the recommended 4% increase for domestic tuition fees.

If approved, the increase will apply across all undergraduate papers and for all honours and postgraduate thesis study.

The university raised its domestic student fees this year by 6.3%, after council members approved a maximum 4% hike in 2010 alongside a further 2.3% increase to cover a GST rise.

Otago University Students' Association education officer Katie Reid, one of two student representatives on the council, said she would vote against the proposed fee increase, given the OUSA's long-standing opposition to any fee increases for students.

Course fees for international students were raised by up to 5% in June for the 2012 academic year.

A report from the university's financial services director, Grant McKenzie, to council members said the tertiary institution was continuing to "face significant cost increases". Several factors were considered when setting the proposed 2012 fee increases, including fees charged by other universities for similar courses.

Otago's course fees for arts, commerce, law, and science papers compare favourably with six other New Zealand universities, sitting mid-table or towards the lower end for most course costs.

A capped funding environment was also affecting its traditional funding revenue models, given changes introduced by the Government.

"The university operates in a capped funding environment, so increases in government funding from changes in enrolments is limited," he said in his report.

The fee hike vote at today's Otago meeting looks unlikely to attract the kind of disruption which happened at the University of Auckland last month, when students occupied their registry building to protest against a 4% increase.

OUSA president Logan Edgar said most students had left Dunedin for their summer holidays, which made it hard to raise a collective voice in opposition to the fee increase.

Today's meeting was originally scheduled for November 8, when there were more students in Dunedin.