NUI Galway has come under criticism by students and NUIGSU for not waiving their €295 resit fees despite their purpose being questioned in light of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.
This comes in the wake of myriad other Irish third-level institutions waiving this fee, including University College Cork, NUI Maynooth, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University, Athlone IT.
This commitment to the continuation of the policy has been openly and consistently criticized by NUIG’s Students’ Union, who argue that the vast majority of these repeated exams will be done from home with the student’s own materials.
NUIG charges a flat fee for resits. This means that a student who opts to resit pays the fee, but can retake as many exams for the semester as they wish.
In a comment, NUIG stressed that “The exam repeat fee remains in place. It is only for students who do not qualify for a fee waiver. Students who are in the most need of financial support are supported through the university’s financial aid fund, and access to this fund has been widened in the past year to reflect the financial strains under the current pandemic.”
However, Pádraic Toomey, President of NUIG Students’ Union, has stated this accommodation affects only a small minority of students and that “it doesn’t take into account the pandemic” which is “affecting everyone”.
Notably, UCD has also opted to continue to charge students for repeating exams. However, this comes at the cost of €185 per exam, rather than the flat fee that NUIG charges.
Representatives from the UCD Students Union are due to meet with University officials, including the Registrar and Dean of Postgraduate Studies to discuss this, amongst a number of other subjects, on Wednesday.
Jack McGee – Reporter
