The NUIG Student Union have condemned the university's decision to charge students €295 to sit online repeat exams.
The fee is usually put in place to cover the costs of venues, invigilators and materials. However, considering the current climate, these conditions are not in place. Rather than have the repeat exams take place in exam halls, students must sit their repeats online.
The NUIG Student Union, through their #RipOffNUIG campaign, have called on the University to scrap the fees in line with third-level institutions around the country. The SU believes that NUIG are "taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to generate income from exam fees."
Furthermore, through a Freedom of Information request, the NUIGSU found that the true cost of each exam, in its usual guise, is €10.98.
Through FOI, the actual cost of an exam @nuigalway
is €10.98 yet this includes materials, venue and invigilator costs. These do not exist this year. How can the university explain trying to make €284.02 off every student doing 1 repeat? #RipOffNUIG pic.twitter.com/YlLZ3DiaXn— Pádraic #RipOffNUIG (@News2mey) August 6, 2020
With this data, the NUIGSU and its President Pádraic Toohey believe that its unjustifiable that the University stands to profit off students sitting repeat exams.
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In a statement, Pádraic Toomey said that the NUIGSU are "disgusted" with the University.
"Students who have deferred, or failed an exam will have to pay €295 for the pleasure of sitting the repeat exam in their own bedroom.
“We are in extraordinary times where students have not had access to learning facilities like the library and face to face teaching, and many have struggled as a result. Now, the University wants to punish those students with this charge instead of following the example of other colleges which have cancelled the fee.
“The actual cost of putting on an exam for NUI Galway is €10.98 yet this includes materials, venue and invigilator costs. These costs do not exist this year. How can the university justify making €284.02 off every student doing repeat exams?”
Following on from their #RipOffNUIG campaign and online petition, the NUIGSU have called on students get in touch in an email campaign to ask the University to drop the repeat fees.
