€200 registration fee for PLC courses

Iorras55

Looking for a thread on this but to my surprise, can't find one. Disincentive or what? I reckon the Govt. is looking to save money on teachers because this fee seems to go against everything that FETAC courses were set up for. What does anybody else think?

implausible

In fairness, I think €200 is quite reasonable. Many colleges have been charging up to €100 before now anyway. If you were to do a course in a University or IT, it'd cost you far far more than this in registration fees. Many private colleges offer the exact same FETAC courses as public schools and colleges for thousands of euro.

The €200 might act as an incentive for students to stay. In the past, I've had many students drop out within a few weeks or only sign up to the course in order to get a grant. A respectable charge like this might make students take it more seriously.

dlofnep

deemark wrote: »

The €200 might act as an incentive for students to stay. In the past, I've had many students drop out within a few weeks or only sign up to the course in order to get a grant. A respectable charge like this might make students take it more seriously.

It won't be an incentive to stay in fairness. I know people who have paid full fees to uni and have not stayed. If people are going to drop out, they will drop out regardless.

looksee

While I don't think it would prevent drop-outs, it is an expression of serious intent. I agree that of all the increased charges this one probably is not the worst.

kob29

Agreed, €200 for a qualification is a pittance in all fairness. I know of a plc college that increased its reg fee from €50 to €100 this year and has noticed a huge reduction in drop outs. It is definitely a higher level commitment and will take more planning for a lot of students to save up and value the chance they're getting and also the stepping stone to college.

The half hearted student wont cough up that kind of money, therefore leaving more room for the committed applicant to stake their claim.

Further Ed.

However do bear in mind that the €200 charge introduced by the Govt is in addition to whatever the PLC college charges so it will be on top of the current charge.

Many of the larger PLC colleges currently charge between €100 and €200 to supplement their services. Add to that at least €50 for FETAC exams many students will be looking at paying at least €300 (Gov €200 College Charge €50 & FETAC exam fee €50) before they purchase books or additional material. It will certainly concentrate minds of the selection of courses and attendance.

spurious

It's certainly a step away from the traditional 'affordable to all' stance that was always the case in VEC colleges/schools.

Perhaps it's a sign that so many who never considered the VECs for their secondary education now find them acceptable at PLC.

implausible

Further Ed. wrote: »

the €200 charge introduced by the Govt is in addition to whatever the PLC college charges so it will be on top of the current charge.

Oh, never thought of that. Is that definite?

Many of the larger PLC colleges currently charge between €100 and €200 to supplement their services. Add to that at least €50 for FETAC exams many students will be looking at paying at least €300 (Gov €200 College Charge €50 & FETAC exam fee €50) before they purchase books or additional material.

Now, maybe it's just my particular centre, but the vast majority of learners in it are exempt from the exam fees and most of our tutors work off handouts. I wonder will the €200 be payable by all or will there be exemptions from it.

Further Ed.

deemark wrote: »

Oh, never thought of that. Is that definite?

Well I can not see centres that were charging their own rate now stopping - in the current climate and after budget cuts they will need it more than ever. That fee that was charged by centres ranges from €50 to €200 and formed a large part of the operating funds of the centre. It was never returned to the Dept of Ed & Skills but used for centre activities and services including Libraries etc. Many FE/PLC centres I know used it for extra services and additional support not funded by the VEC/Dept. Do remember that while the vast majority of PLC provision in the public sector is in the VEC sector there is still a significant amount in secondary schools outside of VEC control.

I wonder will the €200 be payable by all or will there be exemptions from it. I do know FETAC fees are exempt for Medical Card holders but I know other exam bodies from outside the State e.g. City and Guilds, Edexcel (BTEC) and the therapy examination bodies didn't give exemptions for Medical Card holders. [/COLOR]

Now, maybe it's just my particular centre, but the vast majority of learners in it are exempt from the exam fees and most of our tutors work off handouts.True enough with the lack of FE books for the Irish sector but with photocopying costs so the centres will have to cover the cost somehow. Uniforms for Cooker, Beauty Therapy etc courses are mandatory as per the exam bodies.

The other impact of the budget will be the change in the grant requirements in terms of distance from centre etc - that is going to have a big impact on students travelling distances to do FE courses and many of the large centres will be researching where their students come from and trying to predict what will happen. We are heading back to less movement by students and that will impact on the large centres while the local smaller centres won't have the range of courses that the large centres have, so all in all the increase in numbers applying continuing may not be something to bank on for Sept 2011 for some centres.

FETAC are also changing the requirements for providers registering. Methinks that the new schemes funded by the Dept and mainly provided by private providers will be very popular as they will be offered where the learners are - going to the learners rather than the learners going to the centre. They will be running throughout the year and this will impact on where learners decide to select to do their FETAC course. If you get a funded place with a private provider vs place in PLC college with €200 govt charge before paying anything else there is no real decision to be made.

All of the above combined with cutbacks in capitation grants and changes to teacher contracts will put more pressure on the FE system, not to mention the combination of VECs and the possible reduction in FE centres as a result. At a time when there are more and more people applying for places it will be increasingly difficult to maintain the places that do exist (especially those over the cap) never mind increasing places. Worry and very changing times ahead.