CUT Annual Report 2013

The recommendations made to the CUT Council in respect of tuition fees and related fee increments are consulted with the
Student Fees Committee, on which all stakeholders, including the SRC, are represented.
A number of factors are responsible for cost increases, some of which are listed below:
Higher education is expensive, and the cost of providing such education usually increases at a higher rate than that
of general inflation.
Maintaining the physical campus and expanding the range of options for classrooms and research laboratories form
a major part of the costs involved in providing higher education at a university of technology.
Costs are also affected by the demand for additional facilities.
Reasons for, and rationale behind, the proposed fee increment
The institution remains financially sustainable, provided that the contribution from students through the proposed fee increase
is approved; the planned student enrolment numbers are achieved; and the increase in income and expenditure
remains within the parameters of the financial projection.
Further motivation for fee increases at CUT, and comparison with fees charged by other
universities
Comparing CUT’s fee increases for 2013 with those of the other 22 national institutions reveals that the average
tuition fee at CUT was lower than that at any other institution in the country.
CUT’s residence fees for 2013 were competitive and were actually lower than the fees charged by other
institutions in urban areas.
For 2013, the minimum amount payable upon enrolment at CUT was set to increase to R4 451 (enrolment
deposit of R3 700 + registration fee of R751). This is still much lower than the average payable at the 22
other institutions in the country.
Percentage annual fee increment for the 2013 academic year
Financial aid granted from CUT funds was increased along
with the agreed percentage increase in tuition fees. Equity
improvement demands are considered when allocating
these funds.
Although there was a connection between the fees charged
and the cost of a qualification, the exact cost of a qualification
cannot be charged to a subject, as cross-subsidisation
does and will continue to apply. Without a certain degree
of subsidisation, some qualifications would not be affordable
and would price CUT out of the market.
The STEPS process, initiated in 2010, assists in phasing out
loss-making programmes that are of no strategic value. The
PSP Icon Programme provides basic management information
on programme viability.
At the time of determining tuition fees for 2013, the national
CPI for March 2013 published on 17 April 2013, year on
year, was 5.9%. The CPI rate for the Free State in March
2013 was 5.9%.
The increase in price index for Education, as reported by
Stats SA for April 2013, was 9.0%, and is divided on two
sectors, i.e. primary and secondary (9.1%) and tertiary
(8.8%).
The increase in Government Block Grant was expected to be
6.1% at that stage, and will be in line with the national CPI.
Government subsidises more or less 66% of the cost of a
qualification. The student thus pays only 33% out of his/her
own pocket, taking into consideration some external funds
that cover other costs. CUT receives no government grant
for international students, with the exception of undergraduate
students from the SADC region. Although international
students are in fact supposed to pay three times the amount
paid by domestic students, CUT charges them only 1.5
times more than domestic students.
Residences are not cross-subsidised and are self-sustaining.
A minimum increase of 10% in residence fees for 2013, as
decided on in 2012, was necessary to enable the residences
to continue operating in a self-sustaining manner.
The registration fee of R751 for 2013 covered the costs of
the registration process. Although the proposed application
fee of R185 for 2014 would not cover the costs of the application
process, it would be in line with the fee charged by
other institutions.
The following annual percentage increases for 2013 in the respective categories were approved by the CUT
Council in 2012:
Tuition fees increased by an average of 8% for 2013.
Residence fees increased by 10% for 2013.
The registration fee increased from R630 to R751 for 2013.
The application fee increased from R170 (already approved for 2012) to R185 for 2013.
The late-application fee increased from R320 to R340 for 2013.
The enrolment deposit/tuition fee instalment increased from R 2 950 to
R3 700 for 2013.
The residence fee instalment increased from R1 650 to R1 825 for 2013.
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