UNISA Fees

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by okydd, Dec 14, 2007.

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  1. okydd

    okydd New Member

    Quote
    “The government is currently investigating the policy regarding the subsidy for foreign students. The attention of such students is drawn to the fact that prescribed student fees could increase substantially in the future. The university reserves the right to change fees in certain countries in the currency of that country.”
    http://www.unisa.ac.za/contents/studyinfo/docs/process_docs/Fees_2008.pdf

    One of the main reasons why SA schools has been discussed extensively is because of their reasonable cost. I can afford to persue my doctoral studies at a SA school, however if the fees are "increase substantially" it may become an impossible dream.

    What impact does excellent sites like Degreeinfo has on the cost of edeucation in SA? Why, there was lot of anticipation when SATS was seeking accreditation for the DTH. But at a mimimum of US$8000 the excitement sort of wane.

    Thanks
    Okydd
     
  2. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Sites like degreeinfo (and other sites that discuss distance learning in South Africa) would tend to increase the cost of distance learning programs in South Africa. Here's why: distance learning boards like degreeinfo (and others) essentially offer free publicity to distance learning institutions in South Africa, thus increasing demand. Supply, however, remains the same. An increase in demand combined with supply remaining the same means an increase in prices. :eek:
     
  3. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I would tend to agree with you, Ted, with the caveat that tuition fees in South Africa are a political decision, not an economic one, so the price bears little if any resemblance to what it would be in a free market.

    -=Steve=-
     
  4. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    While Ted and Steve may be absolutely correct, I'd like to put a bit of a spin on my answer. I have three things to add:
    1) I'm assuming that if you're considering a South African degree then money is a big issue in your choice of schools. Even if the UNISA fees double (that's a substantial increase) it will remain the least expensive program available. Stop worrying and enroll!
    2) Your quotation came from the UNISA website. Look at other ZA schools too.
    3) You pay a compliment to degreeinfo for being so influential in the DL world. I don't know that anyone at UNISA reads degreeinfo but even if they don't it's possible that someone has noticed an increase in admissions from the USA (and other Western countries). It's global economics dude! More and more people get the opportunity to advance their education and as a result the price goes up. If it wasn't for the internet and the distance learning websites then YOU never would have heard about UNISA. Stop worrying and enroll!
     
  5. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Not true. I first heard of UNISA in 1980.
     
  6. distancedoc2007

    distancedoc2007 New Member

    I am now in the second year of my doctorate at UNISA, and the tuition fees have gone up maybe $500 this year. If they do the same next year, it will still be a great bargain. I wouldn't worry about the tuition fees.
     
  7. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    My impression is that many/most/all South African higher education institutions (certainly the universities, don't know about SATS) are state funded and subsidized. Their tuitions and fees are kept low, well below cost, in order to make them affordable to impoverished black South Africans. Their foreign student fees seem low because South African DL is largely marketed in other African countries where ability to pay is even lower than in ZA.

    So what seems laughably low to us might not be so low in countries like Zimbabwe. It might be a higher percentage of income for many students than private American DL programs charge Americans. The American schools would be totally out of the question for poor Africans, charging tuition that's far more than what an average family makes in an entire year.

    Whenever I seriously considered enrolling in South African DL, I felt faintly guilty. I felt like I would be an unintended rich-country free-rider being subsidized by ZA taxpayers who in many cases might be worse off than me.

    So I have to say that I've been expecting the South Africans to increase foreign student tuitions. I'm a little surprised that it hasn't happened before now.

    The question is how much tuitions will rise. Will they rise to the point where wealthy-country foreign students become a source of income for universities? That's almost certain, I'd guess.

    So what then? Would that mean charging foreigners tuitions that are more in line with what local DL programs charge in their own countries? Or will ZA keep prices comparatively low, continuing to compete on price, hoping to pick up wealthy-country DL student market share, perhaps making South Africa into a major educational off-shoreing operation?
     
  8. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Bill nails it in the above post.

    I would expect UNISA to increase their fees as accessibility to their programs--and, thus, participation from overseas students--improves.

    I would also expect UNISA to charge different fees based upon the student's home country. This is done elsewhere. So students from the U.S., say, would pay much more than those living in Belize. (Purely hypothetical example, of course.)
     

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