University of Auckland raises tuition fees ahead of inflation nine years in a row
Students today have expressed their frustration at the decision from the University of Auckland Council to raise tuition
fees by 4%, the maximum allowed under current legislation. For many students this is an increase of several hundred
dollars per annum[P1] for their 2014 fees. The average fee increase for domestic students has been consistently above
inflation for the last nine years.
“Persistent underfunding of tertiary education has meant the burden is transferred to staff and students as increased
fees and redundancies,” says Auckland University Student’s Association (AUSA) President, Daniel Haines. “This government
has a targeted policy of reducing the amount of money invested into tertiary education. They have consistently funded
education below the operating costs of the University.
“For a number of years, increases in student fees have compensated for the Government’s failure to increase funding
annually at a rate proportional to inflation, let alone university costs. Recently, this has forced the most financially
vulnerable participants in the tertiary system, the students, to make up the difference. As tuition fees are one of the
only discretionary means Council has to increase funding, an operating shortfall makes the Councillors feel like they
have no choice but to increase the cost of tuition fees. The Government has increased its funding to the University of
Auckland by only 1.1% for 2014, resulting in a 7.3% shortfall for covering current costs. Meanwhile the University of
Auckland slipped another 12 places in the QS rankings to 94, bringing the overall decrease since 2006 to 48 places.
“Increases in tuition fees generally have a greater impact on women, Māori and Pasifika students,” says Hannah Williams,
Auckland University Pacific Island Students’ Association (AUPISA) President. “This is because they generally have longer
repayment times. Moreover, Māori and Pasifika graduates will on average earn less than Pākehā graduates.”
AUSA calls on the University of Auckland to stand beside students and staff to send a message to the Minister for
Tertiary Education Steven Joyce that continuous aggressive fee increases are not sustainable. “Education is a public
good and this Government needs to invest good amounts of funding to ensure that access to University is determined by
ability to learn, not ability to pay. Students have been paying more for less,” says Haines.
ENDS