THE MOTHER of an engineering student went viral in June when she asked on Facebook why UST was charging a number of miscellaneous fees despite classes going fully online next term.
Emillie Gemanil-Espina for instance asked why athletic, alumni, cultural and energy fees were still being charged on enrollees.
Espina, a lawyer, also complained that her queries were left unanswered by the administration.
“We parents have our qualms about the so many fees being charged, most especially at this time and we would like to know the answers to the commonly shared questions by the parents,” she told the Varsitarian in an interview.
“We are expecting that the University will not just shrug its shoulders on our queries and more importantly, we demand the justification for the charges being imposed,” she added.
Just how much in fees is UST charging for Term 1 of Academic Year 2020-2021?
Also, why was tuition not cut despite the change in the mode of learning?
Here’s what the Varsitarian found.
UST’s FAQs
In the “Covid-19 Frequently Asked Questions” posted on the UST website, the University administration said there was no tuition reduction because “[t]uition [goes] to the salaries and benefits of employees. Whether classes are held onsite or offsite, the academic staff and support staff continue to work to ensure the delivery of University services.”
To help students, UST reduced down payments to P5,000 and allowed up to four installments.
How does UST’s fees, all-in, compare with neighboring schools in Manila’s university belt?
In UST, a liberal arts freshman will pay P46,417 in total fees for 18 units as well as physical education (PE) and the National Students’ Training Program or Reserved Officers’ Training Corps next term.
The University of the East is charging first-year students P41,443.46 for 20 units, and the Centro Escolar University, P36,155.00. Adamson University is charging communication freshmen P36,081 next term.
Decreases, increases
Under the schedule of fees released by the Office of the Vice Rector for Finance, fees for drug tests, retreats and recollections, and PE uniforms were removed. Others were cut by 20 to 50 percent.
The athletic fee was reduced to P900 to P1,000 from P2,000, while fees for library and medical and dental services were cut by about a third.
The audiovisual fee was lowered to P200 from P450 while the energy fee was cut in half to P1,000.
Special development and physical infrastructure development fees stood at P800 and P850, respectively, after being reduced by about half.
Other fees for University-wide organizations and student councils were retained, while the Student Activity Fee rose to P350 from P200.
Fees for guidance and counseling, alumni, cultural activities and community service also remained unchanged.
Energy, lab fees
Espina’s post, which has been shared more than 4,000 times on Facebook, questioned why the energy fee remained at P1,000 despite the fact that students won’t use classrooms next term.
“As I have posted the same letter I sent to the university […] on my Facebook account, I have received hundreds of private messages from parents, guardians and students who share my sentiments,” she said.
UST’s Covid-19 FAQs explained that the energy fee would be “for the maintenance of air-conditioning units and other equipment in the University.”
It said “The energy fee, already reduced by 50%, will again be reviewed at the end of the term in case there is completely no face-to-face class held.”
Another parent with similar concerns said the University registrar, Cesar Velasco Jr., responded by email to her queries, which she posted as a comment to Espina’s Facebook post.
Laboratory fees are still included to cover salaries of laboratory personnel, and also because faculty members would still conduct on-site lab demonstrations during online classes, the email stated.
Medical and dental fees were retained as UST still conducts online medical and overall health and wellbeing consultations, the email explained.
Moreover, the UST Miguel de Benavides Library, including e-books and online databases, can still be accessed online and is manned by a skeleton workforce.
The email also explained that the fee for the Varsitarian, the official student publication of UST, was retained as it continues to gather news and regularly publish online.
Fees are likewise being charged to pay for contracts, maintenance and interfacing of the UST Cloud Campus, the main learning management system to be used for online classes next term.
UST in July said on its social media accounts that various online and cloud-based resources are available to students, such as GSuite or Google applications, Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Cloud.
Refunds
UST’s FAQs also said refunds of unused fees would be reviewed on a case-to-case basis as students paid either in full or installment basis.
The percentages of the fees to be refunded was being reviewed as other fees varied per program and year level.
“The Accounting Department humbly asks for patience and understanding as its operations are currently constrained by quarantine guidelines pertaining to the age and at-risk conditions of personnel,” it said.
Espina said she received an informal communication from a UST employee advising her to read the FAQs.
The engineering student’s parent, however, said the University’s FAQs did not satisfy her.
“The frequently asked questions did not satisfy my queries because I believe that such were prepared during the normal times when physical presence of the students was the norm in schools. The circumstances are very different now during this period of pandemic,” she said.
Central Student Council Public Relations Officer Jeric Sun said the officers wished they could address all queries regarding the fees and refund but claimed they are also “in the dark” of the issue.
Sun also said it was not “justifiable” to charge the students with fees for facilities they won’t use and urged the administration to release a statement to enlighten the concerns of students, parents, and faculty members.
“All I could give as of now is a promise that [..] we will continue to [work] to bring light into this matter,” Sun told the Varsitarian.
Online classes OK, but…
Espina said she was in favor of online classes as long as there was no vaccine against Covid-19 available, but called for “reasonable guidelines.”
“Online learning is the best solution at this time. Universities should adopt reasonable guidelines on how to go about online education. It needs to periodically assess its system and improve it along the way,” she said.
Espina said she forwarded her concerns to the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Education.
On July 22, Espina started an online petition contesting fees charged by the University.
