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Should students be expected to give money to their old uni after graduation?

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What for? They are already charging £9000 a year for tuition.
If it were free then I would feel like I owed them something.

Reply 21

canthaveit

the thing is everyone keeps saying universities have so much more money now because of the tuition fee rise, but it's not true. the government has cut funding, meaning that universities need to find the money elsewhere, i.e. the students are paying what the government previously gave universities.

so if anything this makes it harder for universities because with students as their 'customers', they have to show improvement in facilities, research etc without actually having that much more money than they did previously.

that being said i probably wouldn't donate to my university, simply because i'll be saddled with crippling debt until i'm in my fifties. :smile:

Reply 22

halbeth

I've given them enough, when the money I've given them starts to equate into me actually earning something, then we'll see.

Reply 23

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Original post by Hal.E.Lujah

I think Oxford is one of the main ones that receives money, especially Worcester. J Sainsbury's even provides food, I hope they factored that into their survey :huff:

I'd probably only ever do something similar if I was fantastically successful. If I owned a massive Pen company for example, I'd happily donate pens to students. :h:

Woosta doesn't have much money actually. We lost literally 1/3 of our endowment when the Icelandic banks collapsed a while back. So they are def after all the money they can get, including my barely-existent earnings :nothing:

Reply 24

Hal.E.Lujah

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

The Royal We I see :holmes:

To be perfectly frank, if you think they were hit hard... :lol:

Reply 25

manic_fuzz

Original post by Hal.E.Lujah

I think Oxford is one of the main ones that receives money, especially Worcester. J Sainsbury's even provides food, I hope they factored that into their survey :huff:

Worcester actually has one of the smallest endowments out of the colleges, somewhat surprising considering how huge it is. Additionally, that comment about Sainsbury is a common misconception. It was actually a former student whose daughter then went to Worcester, and considering the food was terrible at the time he donated money to afford better chefs so that his daughter could eat well and then continued giving money after she left. I actually think he recently passed away, but I hear that his family have decided to continue the donations. Admittedly, our hall/formal is thus extremely cheap.

Reply 26

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Original post by Hal.E.Lujah

The Royal We I see :holmes:

To be perfectly frank, if you think they were hit hard... :lol:

They were hit hard in Oxford terms only - I do acknowledge that! :p:

See the post above though :yep:

Reply 27

SnoochToTheBooch

they can **** right off, my education cost upwards of £35K, they're not seeing another penny out of me.

Reply 28

Kylewalker346234

I got this lovely booklet from my old school 7 years after I left saying that if I paid £25,000 I would have a new Science lab named after me....

Seriously? You haven't contacted me since with even a Christmas card since 2006!

Reply 29

Joinedup

Unis don't look like they're short of money if you came through state schools, the buildings and infrastructre are are a lot fancier, recent uni buildins look like showy corporate headquarters.

Guilt tripping might work at oxbridge where students are able to develop a personal relationship with their tutors. Most undergraduate students I think feel rather like they're being whisked through an impersonal factory on a conveyor belt though.

If I was in the position to I'd rather give some specific benefit in kind rather than general surrouse money to be (mis) spent on anything.

Reply 30

illusionz

Realistically my school did so much more for me, I'm much more likely to give them money.

Reply 31

Klix88

Never mind graduation. I left Oxford after two years without a degree in the early 80s and my college *still* rings me every year without fail, trying to get money out of me. It's hilarious.

Last year, I had to explain to their undergrad cold-caller that I was again a university student and had no income whatsoever, as I was living off my savings. Her response was to suggest that I could therefore contribute a minimal £20 per month to the college coffers. I had to explain that £20 would buy me food and groceries for a week or more and that I certainly wasn't about to go hungry so that High Table could afford an extra bottle of vintage port. The poor lass sounded completely flummoxed at the idea that a former Oxford student could possibly be lacking in funds. I like to think she just saw her potential future flash in front of her... :smile:

Reply 32

Smack

Volunteer Team

Given the rate at which Vice Chancellors' salaries are rising, shouldn't universities be looking in their direction rather than pestering alumni if they're running a bit short of money?

Reply 33

Juichiro

I don't give money to my phone company/supermarket,etc. Why should I give money to my university?

Reply 34

Juichiro

Original post by ConnorB

trying to get money from you like any other random business.

Reply 35

Wiska

If I became a millionaire yes! I'd like to have a block named after me though :cool:

Reply 36

deathhead

Well as my uni turnsover 400 million a year and makes a 40 million profit. I don't think they need my donation especially as they have made thousands off my fees anyway.

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Reply 37

SillyEddy

Nobody should be expected to, but those who do can make a difference to the university and the facilities available. We have two flight simulators (and a converted Harrier jet rigged as a simulator) thanks to the donations of one person. I doubt we would've had anything quite that grand without him.

I know my dad does give some contributions back to his university, and they do offer him visits and tours every so often. I think they want him to give lectures and speeches at some point too. But hey, that's up to him and his money.

As it stands, I have no intention of giving money to my university. Maybe if I won the lottery or came into a lot of money I would, but it's unlikely to become an exceptional graduate who is fortunate enough to be in that position. I'll probably just be an average graduate on an average salary - Nothing too special to warrant funding a university.

Reply 38

nulli tertius

I have to say that I am very disappointed with this.

More than a third of the living old members support my Oxford college. I also support an institution abroad that I attended and am about to support another in the UK. When I finish my present studies, I will no doubt support where I have been studying.

I accept that many people are not financially well placed to make substantial gifts but I don't accept that joining an academic community is like buying a product in a supermarket. I do think there is a moral obligation to support those that come after you, even if that can only be done at a modest level.

If you ask why would your £20 make a difference, it is this. Many of the major private grant giving trusts take into account the numbers of alumni donors rather than the amount donated in deciding who to support. They take the view that if the alumni couldn't care less, why should they.

Princeton has an alumni contribution rate of over 60%. There are nine others, none of which are Ivy League with contribution rates of over 50%. Darmouhth is 49% and the ret of the Ivy League hover around 1/3.