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On Thursday, the ETH Board decided on the controversial increase in tuition fees. However, instead of the 500 francs planned, the academic year will cost only 300 francs more. In international comparison, a degree at the renowned university is always a business.
Over the next two years, the semester fees for the two ETH Zurich and Lausanne will increase from 580 to 730 francs. (Image: Nathalie Taiana / NZZ)
The protest was loud and blue. When the ETH Board announced in September that it would increase tuition fees, criticisms were not slow in coming. Hundreds of students moved into professionally organized actions against higher fees in the field. Blue – the color of the Union of Students at the ETH (VSETH) – dominated hairstyles, banners and streamers. Lukas Reichart, president of the VSETH, complained in an interview in January that higher fees would mean another hurdle before graduation. "ETH Zurich does not have to repeat the mistakes of others!"
Student voices have only been partially resolved. On Thursday, the ETH Board finally decided to gradually increase tuition fees for ETH Zurich and ETH Lausanne – but not for the CHF 500 originally planned per year, but for only CHF 300 .-. The semi-annual fees will thus increase from 580 francs to 730 francs in the autumn of 2020.
Foreigners pay the same amount
In national comparison, the half-yearly fees of the two federal polytechnic schools are always in the lower average . Most universities in German-speaking Switzerland have comparable fees. In St. Gallen and Ticino, costs per semester rise to 1,226 and 2,000 francs, respectively, at a much higher level. Only in western Switzerland, students whose amount is between 500 and 655 francs pay significantly less.
The ETH Board expressed itself after the decision of a "moderate and tolerable adjustment". Even with an annual fee of 1,460 francs, ETH studies are still among the most favorable training courses in Switzerland. ETH Zurich has remained faithful to the credo that domestic and foreign students also pay in terms of openness and internationality. Foreigners sometimes pay much more in other universities: in Bern, Friborg, Lucerne and Neuchâtel, students without a Swiss degree have to pay around CHF 200 more. At the University of Zurich, the study costs 500 francs more for foreigners and even about 2000 francs in St. Gallen and Ticino.
An International Market
If the comparison is extended to other major international universities, the dimensions become the more relativized semester fees. ETH ranks this year in 7th place in the prestigious QS Quacquarelli Symonds University rankings, but in terms of tuition fees, major universities can not fend for themselves.
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the world's top ranked university, a year of undergraduate study costs $ 25,760. At Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology, students should even spend more than $ 70,000 per academic year. The British universities of Oxford and Cambridge far exceed the ETH with annual fees of over £ 9,000.
Increase in the number of students
To ensure a good rate of support and quality infrastructure, additional funds are needed. ETH Board. In fact, over the last ten years, the number of students at the two federal polytechnics has increased by about 55%, more than the federal funds allocated to the field of FITs. The figures are as high as ever: During the current academic year, 25,059 students and 6,234 doctoral students enrolled at both the EPF
Still heavily subsidized
Assuming a study period of 5 years, additional costs for students to a total of 1500 francs. It's just a little over 25 francs a month. Even after increased fees, often expensive course training is still heavily subsidized.
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