This letter was sent on May 31, 2023, and has been copied below exactly as it was written.
Tēnā koe Fox,
I read Zak Rudin’s Critic Te Ārohi article with interest (MINOR CONFUSION! Announcement elicits fears). As the person who apparently said several things quoted, I want to set the record straight, as a number of comments have been misinterpreted, conflated and confused in the telling. I also need to address claims in an earlier article about siphoning off of sector funding.
I was part of a question-and-answer session at the TEU conference on Budget day. The Government had just announced a number of investments in the sector and the Minister was there to talk about them. I mentioned I had been to Otago recently and had had discussions with the VC and Chancellor about its situation, and I was confident they were taking the steps necessary to address the university’s financial issues.
At no time did I say we were talking to Otago about “funding universities via student debt” or raising fees. Universities are independent by law. We can’t and don’t tell them how to manage themselves, and it’s an important principle to maintain.
What I did tell the conference is that the tuition subsidy increase of 5% would make a material difference ($521 million over four years) and that the Ministry of Education would soon be consulting on the Annual Maximum Fee Movement for 2024. These two facts have been conflated and misinterpreted. The basic maths is that universities could never be funded by increasing “student debt”. Domestic student fees only cover about 19% of university costs and fee increases are capped.
Critic also published “$355 Million for Tertiary Sector Reappropriated” which made a number of incorrect claims as a result of confusing funding, fees free and student loans. The key point is, an additional $521 million in this year’s Budget is going to tertiary organisations to support teaching by increasing the amount of funding for each equivalent full-time student. Funding for future years is only an estimate because, as Otago has seen this year, the student numbers you expect are not always what you end up with, and the Government is not going to pay for students who aren’t there.
As to whose side am I on? I’m on the side of a vibrant and sustainable university sector that has the interests of learners at its centre.
I get that there is a lot of uncertainty in universities – for students and for staff. It’s something a lot of people across the country have faced in the last three years. Universities are a vital part of our society and economy and we all have an interest in them being highly successful and, of course, financially sustainable.
An important part of our role is understanding what they are doing and communicating that to the rest of government, because the Government has billions invested in them and huge expectations in terms of the contribution they will make to our future.
I also want to assure you that the TEC takes the learner voice very seriously. We regularly meet with student representatives, at local and national level, to hear their perspectives and build them into our plans and policies. If Critic or OUSA has questions about what we’ve said, recent announcements, or how the tertiary funding system works, the TEC is always willing to answer them.
Ngā mihi nui,
Tim Fowler
Chief Executive
Tertiary Education Commission