Hey Otago Ew-ni,
We have a bone to pick with you. We need to talk about how “full” scholarships do not, in fact, cover the costs required to be a student.
What is the purpose of a scholarship? To us, it is meant to allow someone to complete their studies, while not allowing financial hardship to hinder their ability to succeed. Without this kind of support, many students would likely forgo undertaking postgraduate study, particularly as it takes us all past Studylink’s - brilliant - 7-year cap.
It seems ludicrous that a full scholarship wouldn’t cover all necessary fees. Yet, every year postgrads are faced with the Student Services Fee. Paying this fee is compulsory, so one would reason that a fee-covering scholarship would cover this too. Students who have taken this concern to the Graduate Research School in the past have been told that this fee is “optional” and therefore not covered. However, if a student wishes to graduate, this “optional” fee suddenly becomes a barrier to completing a qualification.
Don’t get us wrong; we value many of the services that this fee covers. Our issue is with our scholarships covering (some) fees. $739 is a huge sum to produce annually, and it’s a kick in the teeth to be paid by the uni, just to pay the uni straight back. It’s even worse for international students, as they have to have private medical insurance as well.
At this point in our lives we don’t want to live “like students”. We value our health enough to not tolerate shitty, mouldy, damp and under-insulated houses and a diet of 2-minute noodles. We don’t have time to be sick when we’re pulling 70+ hour weeks in the office or lab. Adequate housing is hard enough to find without being charged through the teeth for it. Some of us have dependants. We’re not a well-off population with $700+ lying around to cover a fee that should be covered.
It seems like the University forgets that we are real people, who pay real bills, and live real lives. Many scholarship students have exceeded their 7-year cap for loans, assuming they can convince Studylink to pay this fee at all. Many are international students with no access to Studylink.
So, Uni, want to trade places with us for a few months? Try living on our measly stipends then tell us how easy it is to pay fees while trying to avoid a noodle diet.
A response to this article by Student Services and the Graduate Research School
Both Student Services and the Graduate Research School acknowledge the financial challenges faced by many (and particularly by international) postgraduate students. While the $739 student services fee offers value for money, a wide range of services, and is set at a similar level to other NZ universities, we agree it can be a significant and difficult cost to meet. It is also compulsory (GRS apologises for any incorrect advice on this in the past).
Your correspondent has correctly pointed out that postgraduate scholarships do not cover the student services fee, only tuition fees. This is specified in current regulations. It could be looked at in the future, but given the number of postgraduate scholarships offered by this university, there would be significant impact on the scholarships budget. I would welcome further discussion about this, either through your representative on the Graduate Research Student Liaison Committee, or through a conversation with myself or Peter Boston, Manager Postgraduate Scholarships, Prizes and Awards.
Further information about the student services fee can be found at:
www.otago.ac.nz/studentservices/otago626140.html, and postgraduate scholarship regulations at www.otago.ac.nz/graduate-research/scholarships/master/otago013798.pdf
Nāku noa, nā
Andrew Lonie
Manager
Graduate Research School