10.03.2024
A few weeks ago, AGEPoly learned of the intention of the ETH Board (ETHB), the entity overseeing the two Federal Institutes of Technology (EPF), to attempt to increase tuition fees for international students. The proposed increase aimed to triple the fee for any non-Swiss student. This request did not come from the management of EPFL or ETH Zurich; both strongly opposed it. AGEPoly also opposed this tripling of fees. Indeed, it contradicted the values of equal treatment and diversity of our school. This measure would not have helped to solve the budgetary and logistical problems currently faced at EPFL and would have only served to apply a social filter to admissions to the school, motivated mainly by political reasons.
Thus, AGEPoly worked hand in hand with VSETH (General Association of ETH Zurich Students) to produce a letter to the CEPF and arguments against this measure. Additionally, we contacted and sought advice from various internal and external entities at EPFL as well as the ETHB in an attempt to curb this increase.
Therefore, we are pleased and relieved to learn that on March 7, 2024, the ETHB decided not to triple tuition fees for students residing in Switzerland for their studies. More here : https://ethrat.ch/en/planned-cuts-in-the-eth-domain-affect-strategically-important-projects/
This made the news: https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/a-l-epfl-les-etudiants-suisses-et-etrangers-auront-toujours-le-meme-tarif
03.06.2024
Here we go again!
On May 8, 2024, the Finance Commission of the National Council (CdF-N) approved the Federal Council’s relief package. It proposed to the Commission for Science, Education and Culture of the National Council (CSEC-N) to set higher tuition fees for students of foreign nationality in the law on the ETH Domain. On May 17, the CSEC-N accepted this proposal and decided to triple the tuition fees. The National Council then confirmed it on Wednesday, June 29, by 134 votes to 61.
Next step: the Council of States will deliberate in September on (among other things) this proposal to triple the fees.
The AGEPoly’s position is detailed here: https://go.agepoly.ch/increase-of-tuition-fees. In short, neither the students, nor EPFL, nor Switzerland would benefit from such an increase. We surveyed the students by email last Wednesday, which follows a preliminary analysis of the results to date.
For raw data, analysis methods, and more results, see the following Github repo: https://github.com/Dicedead/atePollAnalysis
We have received 1251 responses so far. The sample is not very different from the campus population in terms of nationalities and degrees:
It should be noted that the survey did not offer any rewards, for a very diplomatic reason: it is difficult for us to defend such a survey to higher authorities if it includes a prize draw to distribute vouchers at the end, as this would unfortunately devalue it. This is unfortunate, especially when we remember that an independent causal bias from the survey content that encourages participation is beneficial for the representativeness of the responses, particularly for a sensitive topic like this one. However, the fairly large volume of responses obtained, 1251, reassures us about the survey’s representativeness.
The overall opinion regarding the proposed increase in tuition fees from the survey is as expected:
The average is 0.747/4 (indeed, the responses from 1 to 5 were scaled to the interval [0,4] for easier interpretation).
In particular, here is the histogram of the opinions of the 385 Swiss respondents regarding the proposed increase:
Here the average is 1.813/4. The subject is clearly divisive among the Swiss respondents. There is a hypothesis here that Swiss people who do not feel affected by the increase would have been less likely to respond to the survey.
As for the opinion of the respondents without Swiss nationality:
The opinion of people with a European nationality and without a European nationality does not really differ much.
Next, regarding the consequences, the survey asked the following 2 questions:
For these 2 questions, the responses of non-Swiss individuals are shown here.
The numbers are striking: 54.9% of non-Swiss respondents considering not coming to EPFL in the case of a tripling of fees, including 22.7% who would not come at all. 70.8% of the same population would need to work alongside their studies, including 20.7% who already do so. The sample is certainly somewhat biased regarding these two questions, but the results are still surprising. This is a very serious indication of an already existing student precariousness.
Concise analysis of textual comments:
- Some comments ask why AGEPoly took a position before this survey: Last March, the issue of tripling tuition fees had already come up, as mentioned earlier in this article. The feedback from class delegations as well as from the survey conducted by CERES showed that 81% of the opinions expressed considered that tripling would have been a bad measure, compared to 6% who considered it would have been a good one. We already had a good measure of student opinion on the subject at that time.
- The proposal to triple tuition fees came out of nowhere shortly before the parliamentary session where the National Council would take a position on the measure, and we had to react quickly to the press and parliamentarians.
Additionally, some comments propose alternative measures:
- An increase for everyone, to avoid Swiss favoritism.
- An increase only for non-European students, in accordance with the Lisbon treaties and closer collaborations between European institutions.
- A smaller increase than a tripling, to provide part of the required budget while putting less strain on students’ finances.
- A larger increase than a tripling, to align with the Anglo-Saxon model, ensuring that foreign students effectively pay for their studies at EPFL.
A vast majority of the comments agree that the proposed fee increase is unfounded and poorly calculated, endangering the already precarious finances of students coming to Switzerland, where the cost of living is already high.
Next, we will go to Bern in 2 weeks to discuss with members of the Council of States, particularly from the middle of the political spectrum, to try to ensure that the Council of States does not corroborate the National Council’s decision to support the tripling during the next parliamentary session in September. During the summer, we will probably examine the survey responses in more detail according to our needs.
20.07.2024
During its visit of the Federal Place, AGEPoly met with around fifteen parliamentarians. It was apparently fruitful: the Science, Education and Culture Committee of the Council of States (CSEC-CE) voted for a doubling instead of a tripling. Thus, if the Council of States were to vote for doubling rather than tripling the fees for foreign students during the parliamentary committee in September, the ball would be back in the court of the National Council. This allows time to potentially reduce or even cancel the proposed increase.
However, the ETH Board has finally decided to revert its decision from March during its session on July 10 and 11: it will put the project of tripling tuition fees out for consultation to decide in early December on its implementation, as well as the indexing of tuition fees to the Swiss consumer price index. The exact details remain unclear for now, particularly how this increase will affect foreign students already at EPFL or ETHZ, as the phrase “A transitional regulation will allow students already enrolled at an ETH to complete their bachelor’s or master’s without an increase in fees” can be interpreted in several ways. This will be clarified in the fall.
It goes without saying that AGEPoly maintains a firm stance against this tripling unilaterally decided by the ETH Board. This decision is based purely on political reasons, with the ETH Board betting on our tuition fees to maintain its autonomy and avoid being forced into action by Parliament. However, we, the students, are not pawns in politics. To be continued!