Read on Twitter
I keep thinking about this myth that £9250/per year fees are solely for tuition. So I've put together a list of all the running costs that I can think of that university fees contribute towards. It's huge, and no doubt there are things I've missed: https://twitter.com/RefundUsNow2020/status/1311687743727173633
Estates (campus buildings and spaces, new buildings)
Estate upkeep (janitors, security, cleaners, and the resources they need to do their jobs)
Library materials and services (all new books, journal and database subscriptions, and librarians, archivists and curators' wages)
Estate upkeep (janitors, security, cleaners, and the resources they need to do their jobs)
Library materials and services (all new books, journal and database subscriptions, and librarians, archivists and curators' wages)
IT networks and support (including staff, hardware, and software including licenses for virtual learning environments)
Labs, materials, and technicians
AV technicians and materials
Administration (administration and admissions staff, materials required for admin support)
Labs, materials, and technicians
AV technicians and materials
Administration (administration and admissions staff, materials required for admin support)
PR and marketing (social media teams, branded university materials, prospectuses, website and so on)
Counselling and health services (in-house student health services and occupational health for staff)
HR (human resources staff and the materials required to do their jobs)
Counselling and health services (in-house student health services and occupational health for staff)
HR (human resources staff and the materials required to do their jobs)
Pensions and national insurance (required by law for all employees on certain contracts)
Research costs (field work, transcription, archives, travel, public engagement)
Utilities (gas, electric, air conditioning, heating, water, refuse collection, sanitary bins, post, etc.)
Research costs (field work, transcription, archives, travel, public engagement)
Utilities (gas, electric, air conditioning, heating, water, refuse collection, sanitary bins, post, etc.)
If anyone thinks of anything else please add to the thread. It would be useful to communicate this to students somehow because the 'tuition' fee myth is deeply harmful (this is before we even get into arts subsidising sciences, etc.)
Obv there are still questions to be answered, e.g. should tuition fees reflect that campus utilities and services are suspended/restricted? Fine. But surely the bigger question is 'should the govt abolish tuition fees altogether and make HE free for all?'. And the answer is yes
I really hope students calling for meagre 15% reductions based on misinformation about online teaching reconsider their positions. I'd urge them all to join unions, support unions, write to MPs/MSPs, etc., write to VCs and senior management teams and ABOLISH FEES instead
If you read to the end of the thread you'll see that I, along with many many other lecturers, disagree with fees altogether. So it's not entirely clear what your point is?
