Exchequer Payment in respect of Full-Time Undergraduate Tuition Fees
2012/2013
The following is an extract from the College Charges section of the College
Calendar:
N.B. The Board of Trinity College, Dublin , is not bound by any error
in, or omission from, the following regulations.
1 The following are the eligibility criteria issued by the Department of Education and Skills in November 1997 and amended in 2004 in relation to the free fees initiative.
Criteria for determining eligibility
2 Tuition fees will be paid in respect of E.U. nationals who have been ordinarily resident in an E.U. Member State for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to their third level course subject to the following conditions:1
(a) Tuition fees will be paid only in respect of students attending full-time undergraduate courses other than ESF aided courses in the Regional Technical Colleges and Dublin Institute of Technology. Existing regulations for ESF aided courses will continue to apply.
(b) The courses must, other than exceptionally, be of a minimum of two years’ duration.
(c) The courses must be followed in one of the approved Colleges.
(d) Tuition fees will not be paid in respect of students pursuing a second undergraduate course. However, notwithstanding this condition students who already hold a national certificate or diploma and are progressing to a degree course without necessarily having received an exemption from the normal duration of the course may be deemed eligible for free fees .
Students who have previously pursued but not completed a course which has not attracted exchequer funding may be deemed eligible for free fees subject to compliance with the other conditions of the free fees initiative.
Students who have pursued a course of third level study which has attracted exchequer funding (e.g. fees, maintenance, tax relief, subsidy towards course cost) and have not secured a terminal qualification and subsequently resume third level studies are not eligible for free fees for the equivalent period of time spent on the first course of study. Part-time and evening students are included in this category.
Students from the two accession countries that entered the E.U. in January 2007 and who entered undergraduate higher education here for the first time in the 2007-08 academic year are entitled to be considered under the free fees initiative. Prior residency in an accession country will be treated as E.U. residency for this purpose. The status of those students who entered higher education in academic years prior to their countries accession will remain unchanged.
(e) Except in the case of second chance students (see (f) below) tuition fees will not be paid in respect of students doing repeat years or in respect of students repeating a year-level having changed (but not completed) their undergraduate course. This condition may be waived in exceptional circumstances such as cases of certified serious illness.
(f) Tuition fees will be paid in respect of students who, having attended but not completed approved courses, are returning following a break of at least five years in order to pursue approved courses at the same level.
(g) The tuition fees payable do not include the payment of up to €2,335 to be made by students towards the cost of registration, examinations, student services, etc.
All students who are deemed eligible for the Government’s tuition fee remission scheme will be considered registered for the full academic year 2012-13 (and fee claimed by the College for a full year) unless the College is formally notified in writing of their intention to withdraw from College prior to 31 January 2013. This is necessary to enable the College to claim payment of the second instalment of tuition fees on behalf of students from the Minister for Education and Skills.
Where students do not register for the academic year by the due date this will result in the College being unable to claim full tuition fees on their behalf from the Minister and consequently such students would become liable for the full annual fee or the second instalment of their fees, as appropriate. Students who do not intend completing the academic year must notify their tutor or other responsible College officer before 31 January 2013 of their decision to withdraw from College to avoid liability for the second instalment of their tuition fees.
The College may require students to provide proof that they meet the above eligibility criteria by either completing a declaration of compliance and/or providing proof of attendance at previous third level courses where appropriate.
It should also be noted that failure to disclose all relevant information required to determine eligibility for the fee remission scheme may render the student liable for the full fees plus a charge of €358.
1This definition of a student eligible for free fees is different from the College’s definition of an E.U. student for fee payment purposes. This could result in certain students being classified as E.U. by the College but who may not qualify for ‘free fees’.