UCC graduation fee

The students of the University College Cork are outraged at the prospects of a €65 fee for graduation. Seriously how could they not be? A €65 charge just to graduate from the college and that’s after registration fees, books, printing charges etc. It’s a bit too far this time. Students who choose not to pay the fee will be conferred “in absentia” and their parchments will be posted to their home address.

It’s completely unfair, graduating is an important time in a person’s life and I think most people want to go to the college, wear the gown (which you also have to pay for), shake the president’s hand and get their parchment. I know that €65 may not seem like a massive sum of money but if you are already paying for gowns, pictures and everything else before the graduation I can see why UCC students are getting upset. I think it is especially annoying for students already in the college for example the students graduating this year, it is unfair to just spring this on them.

With approximately 3,000 students graduating each year it is estimated that it will raise €200,000 for the college. According to the Irish Examiner (http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/students-vent-fury-over-65-fee-for-conferring-ceremony-452470.html), UCC college authorities have stated that the fee will cover the cost of hosting the graduation ceremonies which include catering and printing costs for the ten days of conferring. The Student’s Union President Eoin Hayes said that he would be very surprised if the college was not making a profit from the fee. I also would be very, very surprised if they weren’t making a little profit from this.

A Facebook page has been set up called Abolish the UCC conferring fee. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Abolish-the-UCC-Conferring-Fee/105497372820124?ref=ts&v=wall) It already has 1, 943 fans and growing. UCC students are posting comments displaying their anger and annoyance about the fee. One student said that he is the first male in his family to have gotten higher than a primary school education and his father had really been looking forward to the graduation. He then said that he believed his father would be much more proud of him for boycotting the fee. I think it is so unfair to take the ceremony away from students and parents who have been looking forward to it. Even if not having the €65 to pay doesn’t stop some people attending the ceremony, I think that their pride will and that is such a shame for them to miss out on the day.

It is a complete disgrace for UCC to ask students to pay a fee to graduate. This is something that should be covered in the registration fee, after all is this not the reason you go to college in the first place, to graduate? All I can say is that I hope the University of Limerick does not follow in their penny-pinching footsteps.

JOD