11 New Eng’g Lab Fees Pending Approval

Last May 6, 2008 the Students Rights & Welfare Committee (STRAW Committee), headed by Councilor Jaque Eroles, attended the student dialogue regarding the proposed Lab Fee increase for 11 Mechanical Engineering (ME) courses. Representatives from the College of Engineering Student Council (ESC) and Student Regent Shahanah Abdulwahid also attended the dialogue initiated by the ME department head, Prof. Gerald Denoga.

According to Prof. Denoga, the department aims that the increases be implemented starting First Semester AY 2008-2009. The proposal has already been approved by the college faculty and administration, and was already submitted to Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs, Dr. Elizabeth Enriquez. However, the OVCSA refused to approve the proposal since it did not undergo consultation with the University Student Council (USC). Thus, the reason for the said dialogue.

The courses affected by the proposed lab fee increase are as follows:

SUBJECT	Original Fee	Proposed New Fees	Remarks
ME 122 Turbomachinery	0	600	presently no equipment for the experiments
ME 131 Manufacturing Processes	300	1,500	price increase in materials
ME 136 Machine Tools Operations	300	1,500	price increase in materials
ME 143 Mechanical Vibrations	0	800	will need PC’s
ME 176 Control Systems 1	0	800	will need PC’s
ME 183 Refrigeration & Airconditioning	200	800	consumables & PC use
ME 73 Mechanical Measurements & Instrumentation	300	500	consumables & maintenance
ME 41 Mechanisms	0	500	will need shop & PC
ME 142 Dynamics 0f Machinery	0	500	will need shop & PC
ME 91 Numerical Methods	0	800	will need PC’s
SHOP 7 Shop Practices	200	1,500	price increase in materials

The original proposal included ME 165 Internal Combustion Engines (none-P1500) but was opposed by the ESC since according to them, it was a lecture class. The department agreed and decided that it shall not be included in the proposed lab fee increase.

Prof. Denoga discussed the rationale for such increases. According to him, ME should be a hands-on program and students should have access to adequate laboratory facilities. Most of these equipment and facilities are either non-functioning, insufficient or inexistent. Experiments may also require fuel, materials and other consumables. Also the 5 courses that currently has a lab fee was based on pre-1989 prices. The proponent also presented the cost breakdown of the expenses per subject.

The USC having the benefit of discussion during the dialogue recommended for the deferral of approval since certain question and concerns were not addressed. Some of these questions are:

1. In light of the second year of implementation of the Tuition and Other Fee Increase (TOFI), will there be any budget increase for the Mechanical Engineering (ME) Department? The TOFI promised for better facilities but why is there a need for even more exorbitant laboratory fees?

2. How else can lessons be modified to minimize cost while not sacrificing the quality of instruction?

3. What are the other possible sources of funds?

4. What are the mechanisms of the ME Department or of the College of Engineering Administration to address students welfare concerns? For example, in the ME program, students need to take 2 to 3 of such laboratory courses in one semester. Such may result to a possible P4,500 in total of lab fees to be paid by a 3rd year or 4th year ME major. What shall be the action to be taken if there will be any student who will be forced to drop-out and not graduate because of the increase?

5. Are laboratory fees, in general, supposed to cover acquisition expenses, aside from maintenance expenses, and consumables as what the proposal indicates?

The USC and the ESC shall also study if it will be possible to request the Industrial Engineering (IE) Department to subsidize their students who take SHOP 7. According to Prof. Denoga, they were able to offer SHOP 7 to their majors until the IE department required this subject to IE majors. Since there are approximately 140 IE majors, as opposed to around 40 ME majors, the ME Department could not shoulder the SHOP 7 expenses alone. The USC STRAW committee and ESC plans to draft a letter requesting for the deferral of approval to be submitted to the OVCSA, Office of the Chancellor and the Board of Regents.