Graduates of the University of Technology (UTech) in November 2006. The UTech, the Unviersity of the West Indies and the Mico University College plan to increase tuition fees in September 2009. - File
Some undergraduate tuition fees will be passing the quarter-million-dollar mark this summer when local universities hike fees to offset a cut in tertiary-education subsidy, but moreso to grow revenue in line with the higher cost of doing business in a downward-spiralling economy.
Locally, there are 50 degree-granting institutions but only a few are subsidised by Government which, for the 2009-10 fiscal year, slashed $700 million, or nine per cent from its usual commitment.
At the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, fees in 2008 ranged from $182,737 for the full-time programme in the Faculty of Law, to $535,554 for the Faculty of Medicine's clinical programme.
This year, all UWI fees will climb by 10 per cent, which would push tuition fees within a range of $201,000-$589,000.
TWO-LAYER INCREASE
At the University of Technology (UTech), where degree programmes already cost more than $300,000 in annual tuition fees, the increases will be in two layers.
"Student fees will be increased by 15 per cent for new students and 10 per cent for returning students," says UTech chief financial officer Deryke Smith.
The Mico University College also plans to increase fees in the region of 15 per cent in the new school year.
Its programmes in 2008 cost $5,000 per credit, with 130 credits required for the completion of a degree.
According to Principal Dr Claude Packer, the intuition does not know yet to what extent it will be affected by the reduction in Government subventions to tertiary institutions, but it is putting plans in place to ensure that the shortfall does not affect the expansion plans of the school. Mico recently established a Principal's Institute, which offers an executive master's degree in school management.
The school is also going after government training contracts, and in May, landed a US$2.4 million job to train 4,000 teachers in the use of technology in the classroom.
In the 2009-10 fiscal year, the Jamaican Government will offer up more than $11 billion in subsidies to tertiary institutions.
Lion's share
The UWI - where Jamaican students pay 20 per cent of the economic cost of their tuition - will get the lion's share of $6.9 billion, or over 62 per cent of the allocation.
Government subvention figures were not available for the UTech, but last year, its subsidy was more than $1.26 billion.
According to UTech's Smith the university, alongside the fee hike, is pursuing other measures to meet its budget requirements.
"The university has never experienced a decline in enrolment, but we are always conscious of the economic environment in which we operate," he said. The university is, therefore, now exploring ways to mitigate any negative impact which the downturn in the world economy will have on the enrolment by seeking to provide further assistance to students through financial aid, which it currently offers to students most in need."
The Utech's income from tuition fees represents approximately one-third of revenue.
Staff costs
In 2008, income from this source was $1.13 billion out of a total revenue stream of $3.02 billion. Staff costs is the university's largest spending item, billed at $1.86 billion.
The UWI could have raised its fees by as much as 12.8 per cent, taking it to the full rate, according to Deputy Principal Joe Pereira. That increase would have taken the tuition fees to the full rate, which the university is "allowed" to charge, Pereira said, but the University Council opted instead to keep the increase to 10 per cent for both new and returning students.
The deputy principal said the UWI's fee increase was not a response to the reduction in Government subventions, but instead, was related to its operational budget, which was approved by Government in February of this year.
avia.ustanny@gleanerjm.com