Compulsory membership no barrier to huge fee increases

Tertiary institutions are currently increasing their student service fees despite claims that the introduction of voluntary membership of student unions would bring about such increases.

In the debate over the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill, the NZ University Students Association (NZUSA) has claimed that under voluntary membership “most institutions will raise their own fees to cover the missing services”.

But within the last year, various institutions, all of which have compulsory student union membership, have increased their student service fees.

Student Choice has recorded the following recent or planned increases in student service fees:

• Massey University, 2009 – recreation centre levy increased from $37 to $62 per student.
   
• Canterbury University, July 2009 – non-tuition fee increased from $85 to $533 plus GST.
   
• Victoria University, March 2010 – student services levy increases 93 per cent to $510 for full-time students, 200 per cent for part-time students.
   
• UCOL, April 2010 – student services levy increases to $400 in 2011, and $500 in 2012.
   
• University of Waikato, March 2010 – Nexus reports that UoW is considering increasing its student services levy.

 This shows that increases in student services fees are being driven by institutions’ attempts to recover costs and have nothing whatsoever to do with voluntary membership.

NZUSA’s claims that student service levies will increase under voluntary membership is nothing more than scaremongering.

Student Choice supports the Freedom of Association bill to make membership of student unions voluntary.