Trinity decides against supplemental exam fees

The provost and offical College account tweeted the news minutes ago

 

The College Board has decided to reverse their decision on the implementation of supplemental exam fees, Provost Patrick Prendergast announced on Twitter this afternoon.

Prendergast wrote that “the Board has accepted the students’ proposals on modular billing and fees for supplemental repeat examinations, as well as new proposals for PG/Non-EU” followed by the Take Back Trinity hashtag. The official Trinity twitter account also tweeted the news, adding that a committee of students and staff will now examine alternatives and report back.

Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) President Keavin Keane wrote in a Take Back Trinity group following the meeting: “Victory. This is because of every single one of you. Im extremely emotional. Thank you. Onwards!”

The decision by the College Board follows several weeks of student campaigning against the introduction of supplemental exam fees. This afternoon a group of protesters from the Take Back Trinity campaign protested outside House 1 ahead of the Board’s decision. Speakers included Solidarity TD Paul Murphy and People Before Profit TD Brid Smith.

Following a wave of protests against the introduction of the fees, covered by national media, Prendergast announced two weeks ago that he would “seriously consider” the fee proposal and later asked for patience from students in an email.

Prendergast had met with Trinity College Students’ Union (TCDSU) President Kevin Keane and Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) President Shane Collins twice last week to discuss the fees as well as the a freeze on price hikes of non-EU and postgraduate fees and on-campus accommodation.

The Board’s decision follows a Fellow’s meeting where Trinity News learned that among other proposal including the possible sale of a College building, Chief Financial Officer Ian Mathews proposed reducing the number of EU student places available at Trinity College in order to offer more places to non-EU students in an attempt to raise more income.