Hi everyone,
I've just got my Fees Statement for my 2008 studies for my MLIS at VUW and once again I've been charged for student services. I've got a problem with this as a distance student. How, exactly, are student services supposed to be useful to me? Why should I pay for them? I've been through a list of the main student services and other things that I can find and don't think that many of them are relevant to us distance students.
Accommodation Service - only of use in Wellington
Career Development & Employment Service - most of us doing an MLIS know what career we want to be working in. Also don't think they offer a distance service.
Counselling Service - only of use to on-campus students
Creches - only of use to on-campus students
Disability Support Services - OK, this is probably fair, but I don't need their services
Financial Support & Advice - as distance students are studying part time and working part time, we shouldn't need these students. Also don't think they offer a distance service.
Health Service - only of use to on-campus students
Student Learning Services - apart from a few pamphlets handed out at the Orientation for the MLIS, all courses etc. seem to be on-campus only with no support for distance students.
VIC OE - irrelevant to distance students as you must be a full-time student
Salient Magazine - unavailable to distance students (Has any distance student ever even seen a copy?)
Student Job Search - irrelevant to distance students who are already working; unlikely to offer library or information management type positions
Class Reps; Funding of Clubs; Sporting Events; Entertainment activities - only of use to on-campus students
Sure, I'm really happy to pay for the distance student service of the library and for the LIM orientations. These are both things that are of great value to distance students.
But why should we be paying for the rest?
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Adrian, I understand your concern. I believe, however, that we distance students pay a reduced fee (possibly less than half the normal student services fee) in recognition that we do not fully utilise the student services. With regard to your comments, I make the following observations: The Career Development and Employment Service could still be useful to MLIS students - it is just that most of us probably don't need it as many students might not because of the stage they are at in life. We are paying it not as MLIS students but as students of VUW; the Student Learning Service will help distance students (I have had help from them myself) and they also offer good information on their Web pages and I guess we are paying for that whether or not we use it; Counselling Service - I am sure this is available to distance students if only in the form of support by telephone or email; Just like the other services, not everyone uses Disability Support Services, but some distance students will, particularly with advice regarding special technology, so I think it reasonable that we all contribute to this. The DSS Web page specifically mentions that they are there to help distance students:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.victoria.ac.nz/st_services/disability/information/distance.html
Similarly Financial Support and Advice - I think if a distance student needed assistance they would help. I think it is a case of supporting services in our fees at a reduced charge in recognition of the fact that we cannot take full advantage of the services as distance students, but also recognising that some of these services are indeed available to distance students. That is the way I look at it anyway. I agree it would be nice if we got a copy of Salient, but we can access it online at:
http://www.salient.org.nz/
and this saves paper and postage.
Most universities offer services which not all students take advantage of, but which all students pay for. VUW is no different. In my opinion it is fairer that we all contribute than users having to pay individually for services as this would probably make them unaffordable to many.
I hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Caroline
Adrian,
ReplyDeleteFurther to my previous comment, if you have not seen it here is a link on the VUW Web site which details the fees and what they cover and the reduction for distance students (please scroll down to "other fees" near the bottom of the page).
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/home/admisenrol/payments/fees.aspx
Caroline
I know where Adrian is coming from and it's a pity part-time distance students don't have a 50% reduction or less. I've never used any of the services and $53 seems a lot for nothing.
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