Staff free from fees

by Don Carson

As students once again contemplate a fee rise, it is interesting to take note of a recent decision by the University Council which exempts staff members from paying any Students' Association fee at all.

Prior to 1972 the University Regulations treated all people taking units equally. Except where the tuition fees payable were under $30, or there were grounds of hardship, then at least in theory all were required to pay a Students' Association fee. The regulations permitted anyone who was taking a course but paying under $30 in tuition fees to join the Association if he wanted to.

Two factors worked against this theoretical equality. Because staff have their tuition fees paid for them by the university they considered that actually paying no tuition fees brought them under the $30. The criteria for all but staff was the fee for the unit, not the net payment. Secondly the Students' Association prevents academic staff above a certain salary from being members of the Association.

This situation prevailed for some time until the introduction of International ID cards. These cards meant that staff thought the opportunity was wide open for them to fly round the country on half fares as students and approaches were made to the Students' Association to amend Us policy.

In 1973 confusion reigned, some staff joined the Association and paid fees, others did not. A clarification was needed and various motions and opinions entered into the committee structure that is the life blood of the university bureaucracy. The matter was referred to the Joint Committee of Council, Professorial Board and Students' Association Tor a recommendation. This body duly met and deferred until there was a clarification of Students' Association policy. Dasent, the Registrar also recommended an agreement from the Students' Association on any decision. The Students' Association notified the administration that there would be a motion at the last SGM-that-wasn't repealing the clause in the Association's constitution prohibiting membership. This would mean that all students would have equal status under both university and student regulations.

Other opinions had also been solicited. The VUW Staff Association wrote to Professor Slater that it opposed the Students' Association policy "on the basis that we cannot concur in a cancellation of a privilege (or fringe benefit) which has been enjoyed by staff for many years. Not part of the basis for our view, but, we think reinforcing it, is the fact that exemption of staff from payment of the fee is the universal practice in all other New Zealand universities." This is an incredibly flimsy argument. It claims privilege on the grounds of a mere precedent which existed on a misreading of regulations concerning the existence of another privilege of having tuition fees paid for them. Also the exemption from fees at other universities is simply not true. One university requires staff taking courses to pay a portion of the fee and at least three others have some restriction on the use of student facilities until staff have paid association fees.

Another opinion was that of the Wellington Branch of the Association of University Teachers. They unanimously passed a resolution "that the Wellinton Wellington Branch of the AUTNZ would welcome the opportunity of any staff member, who so wished to join the VUW students' association but rejects the suggestion that an academic staff member who attends courses should be required to pay the Students' Association fee." This particular group seeks four privileges: not paying tuition fees, not paying Students' Association fees, International ID Cards, and joining the Association if they want without even taking any courses.

The recent decision as a result went through Council. Only P. Malcom McCaw spoke in opposition to it from the non-student ranks. Such a decision shows the noises made by senior university administrators about the university being a community of equals as the product of forked tongues. Staff power will act to defend its privileged position to permit staff taking units to enjoy the subsidies of other students while taking in salaries far in excess of the return on most student jobs. Just as the New Zealand population can do nothing to prevent parliamentary salary increases, students can do little to alter the power of the university administration to decide who may declare themselves exempt from the membership of the Students' Association.

Rugby player's case adjourned