International Students Fees, Charity Partner Selection, Replacement of the Extenuating Circumstances Policy, and SU Budget all take Centre Stage at SU Council Four.
On Monday 18 November, UCD Students' Union Council gathered for its final meeting of the semester, welcomed into the Fitzgerlad Chamber with santa hats and SU-branded tote bags.
Representatives from the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) presented at the start of council before matters quickly turned to the issue of the SU budget.
Council Passes Budget Following Presentation by Board Members
Council was attended by David Fitzsimons, C.O.O. of UCD Students’ Union and Conor Anderson, former Graduate Sabbatical Officer and SU President. The pair took to the floor to present on the annual budget, after Mr Fitzsimons submitted a six-page document of written answers to concerns raised by council when the budget was initially listed as an item for approval in October.
His answers provided detail on a number of issues, such as the general budgeting process, calculation of University Observer Advertisement Income, sponsorships, and the capitation which the Union receives from the University.
Mr Fitzsimons highlighted an expected increase of €80,000 to the capitation received by the SU from the University next year, as part of a €200,000 capitation provided to the Student Activity Committee, which also includes student societies and sports clubs.
The University Observer asked a question to Mr Fitzsimons and Mr Anderson regarding ‘Election Costs’, particularly with reference to the upcoming Constitutional Referendum next week. Mr Fitzsimons confirmed that the additional election campaign for next week’s referendum had not been accounted for in the union’s budget, which was drafted over the summer break, and informed council that roughly €3,500 is likely to be spent on the campaigning procedures required for the constitutional referendum.
Mr Fitzsimons stated that as the cost was unexpected, it would have to be balanced by either decreasing the budgeted expenditure elsewhere, or increasing the income of the Students’ Union, potentially through sponsorship deals. He emphasised that a budget is expected to fluctuate, and is an approximation of income and expenditure.
Following the presentation by Mr Fitzsimons and Mr Anderson and the conclusion of questions, the budget was once again put to council for approval, who voted overwhelmingly to pass it.
Motion to Lobby to Reduce International Fees Passes
Council clearly passed a motion on lobbying for reduced International fees proposed by Welfare Officer Ciara Donohue and seconded by Graduate Officer Kylie McCardel, on the back of an earlier similar motion which passed in council one. The earlier motion mandated members of the Sabbatical team to “lobby the Government for the full abolition of the Student Contribution Charge”. At the time, international students voiced their concerns to council that this motion excluded them, as their fees are set by UCD and not subsidised by the Irish government.
The new motion brought to council speaks to that concern, mandating the Students Union Sabbatical Team to “continue to lobby UCD and the University Management Team to lower international student fees.” The motion acknowledges that international students pay as high as €63,810 in tuition fees for UCD, and that UCD has one of the highest tuition fees in the EU for international students. The motion also acknowledges the €307M governmental funding deficit in higher education in Ireland, and the lack of available support funds for international students specifically.
Motion on UCDSU Charity Partner Passes
UCDSU Disability Rights Coordinator, Shauna Young, submitted a motion to mandate the Student Union Council as a whole to select each year’s charity partner, as opposed to the existing practice which sees the executive committee select it themselves. This follows a discussion from the last council, in which UCDSU Welfare Officer Ciara Donohue shared that the executive team had selected the Student Housing Support Fund as the union's charity partner for the year.
Young started her speech at tonight’s council by saying she wanted to discuss the “democracy around charity partners”. The motion mandated that sabbatical officers “notify council of the need to select a charity partner, and create an opportunity through which council members can suggest charity partners” and that a charity partner can only be selected after gaining the approval of the council.
UCDSU Welfare Officer Ciara Donohue submitted an amendment to the motion, asking to remove the section referencing “the ability of every student to potentially access the resources provided by the supported charity”. Donohue spoke on her amendment, saying that she doesn’t “believe that this is really possible” and spoke briefly on a previous charity partner of UCDSU, LauraLynn, which is only available to people under the age of sixteen. The amendment was sent to a vote and passed, meaning that the section was removed from the motion.
With that amendment in place, Young’s motion was moved to a vote and passed overwhelmingly.
The council then moved to discussing the issue of this year’s charity partner, the Student Housing Support Fund. Welfare Officer Donohue spoke on concerns from a previous council that the chosen charity was “more of a fund than a charity” and if it was available to be utilised by enough UCD Students. Donohue clarified that the donation from UCDSU will be going to UCD Foundation, which is a registered charity. She also stated that she does believe that “this helps enough students”.
Discussion was opened up to the floor, which again centred around the issue of the charity not being available to enough students, due to it only being available to SUSI recipients. Donohue responded to this by mentioning the Student Emergency Fund which “is available to all students”.
Officer reports
Members of the Sabbatical team, College Officers and those on the Campaigns forum presented their reports to council, all of which were clearly carried, with the exception of the Gaeilge officer who was not in attendance, and the Arts and Humanities College Officer. Though submitted on time, The Chair had in error included two copies of the Science College Officer’s report instead. Highlights of the report reading included the news that students can look out for free breakfast and dinner from the SU outside the James Joyce Library during the week beginning December 2nd. ENTS officer Neo O’Herlihy was proud to announce that 1,400 tickets have already been sold for the UCD Christmas Day collaboration with Diceys. Snazzy.
Students' Union Action Group for Housing Interim Report
SU President Miranda Bauer then presented an item for noting, the Students’ Union Action Group for Housing (SUAGH) Interim Report. The report states the intention of the group, “The SUAGH advocates for better housing for UCD students, in line with the Union’s Housing Policy.” The report also stated that standard meetings of the group are scheduled for every second Thursday of each month at 6pm. The group has so far held two standard meetings and one Town Hall, which The University Observer attended.
The report highlighted that a number of issues with UCD Residences were raised in the first meeting of the group, and that since, ‘Estates were contacted and some issues were resolved.’ The group are also looking to establish ‘Residences taskforces’ to deal with these issues quicker.
The report highlighted that the group have been campaigning, engaging in ‘Canvassing & Doorknocking’ on November 5th and 6th. Furthermore, ‘Options for protests and future actions are being considered’, but the main focus of the group as of this meeting of Council is the upcoming General Election. The stated goals of the campaign group are as follows, ‘Rent freeze, affordable accommodation, student digs rights, and lobbying for renters' rights.’
Additional Considerations Policy
A question was asked on notice regarding changes made to the incoming Additional Considerations for Assessment Policy, which will replace the Extenuating Circumstances and Late Submissions policies. Education Officer Tia Cullen clarified for council that certain schools were unhappy with elements of the new policy, and changes were made to reflect this, before the policy passed at the latest session of the Academic Council of the university. The changes include the addition of a ‘5 day extension with a penalty of one grade point’ into the policy, which would exclude high frequency, low stakes assessments and work integrated learning.
The overall policy will offer to students a self-declared 5 day extension with no penalty, the additional 5 day extension with a penalty of one grade point, and certified additional considerations. The certified additional considerations will include significant life events, health and wellbeing, caring responsibilities, bereavement, and notably logistics, which would cover late or cancelled buses.
The policy will now move forward to the final stages, as an implementation plan is drawn up, and students can expect to see the policy put into effect by the next academic year.
The next meeting of UCDSU Council is scheduled for Monday 27 January 2025.