That's right - the Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University Wellington (Pat Walsh) has taken out a court injunction against Salient to prevent them from publishing an article on fee-setting.
The Dominion-Post smell something a bit off here, so they decided to print the article. They might just get a smidgen more circulation that way.
The administration have also scheduled the fee setting meeting during the middle of exams, as to squash any attempt at protests.
Rumours hint at fee increases of 10% across the board, which is unprecedented under fee maxima, and since the 90s. Any increase over 5% and up to 10% would require the Tertiary Education Commission's approval. This body does little more than rubber stamp.
However one might say that Victoria has shot itself in the foot. If the TEC does allow 10% across the board fee increases then people will definitely be thinking that there is something fishy going on here. It is likely to grant the increase unless there is a lot of pressure and media attention. In the event it doesn't grant the fee increase, Victoria won't be happy at all - crying out about the underfunding of the tertiary sector.
We live in interesting times...

Quality first post.

It does sound like the Vic admin have something to hide... We'll have to watch this one.

Sounds like our uni would be more than happy to follow suit as well

they better not...i'm not above going to aut...

Isn't AUT more expensive than UofA?

From Todays Dom Post:

We talked about this in Exec, Massey uni are always the first to go in the rounds of fee setting and they recieved approval from the TEC to get their 10%, so i think we are pretty much fucked.

Remember that their council overturned their fees increase last year

So they were stuck at the 2004 levels for 2005.

See? Student Reps do make a difference

If we were to get technical about it, Salient did get documents that they were not entitled to have, which I image would be from a student rep on the VUW council. Discussions around fee-setting (and the multiple proposals from Finance) would be in strict.
10% across the board is quite hefty, and I believe that their justification was capital expenditure. Auckland will have fee increases, but in most areas they will keep to their 'UPI' (University Price Index, coincidentally about 1.6 times the Consumers Price Index) - possibly applying for a few exemptions like with Med School last year.
International students fees are ones to watch as well. If International Fees don't go up by much, then you can be sure that Domestic students' will.
I only hope that the media follows it and it becomes a big story. Student support featured in the campaign, so it isn't a lost hope...

it doesn't matter how they got them...shouldn't the point of a student magazine be to inform students of important issues affecting them and their university...and so they got their hands on some confidential documents in the process...fact is the students still deserve to be informed whats going on...

Yeah, it's fucking bureaucrats trying to shit on students without them knowing it. Most students don't really realise how much they are paying in fees, so 10% could slip by us quite easily and the university knows this.

Did you know we only pay a 1/4 of the total cost? The government pays the other 3/4, so a $500 paper actually costs $2000, my papers aren't even worth the $500.

Hmmm... the Government and money from Research make up the other portion.

International Student Fees increased by 4% for the coming year. Domestic fees will be set at the final meeting of Council in December. However we should know the bad news a while before then. We then can lobby Council not to increase fees. Your two Council reps are Greg Langton and Conor Roberts

Conor and Greg have said they will probably not go for a no increase stance just because then the next year they will hike it up to the max because there was no increase in the previous year, i think they will go for a rise in line with current inflation, or CPU, or something rather than UPI, i don't know the actual terms.

thats fair enough i suppose...just so long as its controlled...not like a fucking 10% price increase...

They have to fundraise for all the Research somehow :P

*sighs*

When it comes down to it the Uni cant increase more than 5% without it having to go to TEC to be ratified...which they won't

Greg and Conor and only 2 members of a Council of 12. And they are there to represent the 33000 students. And they should consult with those students before deciding what stand they are making.

If students say they dont want a fees increase then they are meant to vote against any fees increase. It wont matter as they would lose the vote 10-2. But if they vote for the fees increase they go wholely against the whole point of student representation i.e. representing the view of students.

And the term is CPI

An abbreviated version of the story is available online - Critic printed it:

Critic

Out of curiousity, has there ever in history been an occasion where the majority of students in a student organisation wanted a fee increase?

As far as I'm aware AUSA and all students' associations, since the introduction of fees, have campaigned against them and voted against fee increases.

I think it is a slippery slope from pragmatism to being the university's lackies.

Mind you there was a student rep on council last year that voted for one of the fee increase proposals - Monique from the PGSA.

Council members are elected, not appointed by AUSA. It was a phone ballot vote. Most students probably didn't vote.

I think that we shouldn't faulter from the line that AUSA opposes all manner of fee increases and that we pressure the government to properly fund Tertiary Institutes.

What do people think?

I am still in favour of a full-funded tertiary education system. i.e. free education.

Secondly, what about international students fees? We can't have it both ways, and they will sky-rocket... Should international students be seen as commodities and cash cows?

What about competition between universities? I am of the thinking that Universities should aim on serving their region rather than poach kids across the country.
But then again some universities specialise in some areas, rather than others.

Better them than us!

Right, hurtle abuse at me for saying that. I mean honestly, come on, they can afford it. They choose to come here to study, they leave with a degree that is worth something and so they have to pay the price. Granted some intl students can't, but i'd say the majority can.

Hmm...tough call, I mean, that extra paper could be how many hours of WoW lost?

uhh am i a retard or has the article been taken down?

Yeah - the article was taken down some point in the afternoon...