390 PESO REDUCTION, NOT ENOUGH! FEU ALABANG, RECHANNEL UNUSED MISCELLANEOUS FEES TO GRADUATION EXPENSES SY. 2020-2021!

Last May 26, Far Eastern University - Alabang released a memo for its graduating Grade 12 students that requires them to pay Php 4,250 to obtain the so-called “graduation package" which is inclusive of documents for college entrance credentials and a virtual ceremony. Due to the united efforts of the students and parents to appeal the unreasonably priced fee, the FEU Alabang admin lowered the Graduation Fee to Php 3,860.

Reducing Php 390 is not enough. A lot of students and parents still feel that the price is too high. Documents such as the diploma is priced at Php 1,385 while Form 137 is priced at Php 485.

Even during an ongoing health crisis, tuition and other fees remain expensive. The institution has shown little consideration towards families who are already suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since there were unused miscellaneous fees from this school year, FEU Alabang should rechannel those unused miscellaneous fees (such as medical and energy fee) to the graduation fee. 

August 2020, distance learning was established as an alternative set-up for students in the pandemic situation. In line with the major shift in learning, Far Eastern University-Alabang increased the tuition fee for senior high school students, with no released breakdown before the school year started.

A certain student is required to pay almost 100k for online classes along with the miscellaneous fees (breakdown of miscellaneous fee below). According to the accounting office, the student must settle their remaining balance first before acquiring documents for college entrance credentials.

HERE: SHS Breakdown of Miscellaneous Fees for SY 2020-2021

Photo shows the breakdown of miscellaneous fees for S.Y. 2020-2021 requested by students from the accounting office. 

There was no breakdown of fees released before S.Y. 2020-2021 started, as opposed to what the institution is insisting. Based on the students’ experiences, the said breakdown was not released in canvas announcements, emails, and school portals. Since the Graduation Fee issue, parents have requested a breakdown of fees to be sent by the school to their respective email addresses, more than a week has passed but there is no undertaking from the school.

The breakdown of miscellaneous fees is questionable as students did not benefit from said fees. The Medical and Dental fee amounts to Php 1,500 while the Energy fee amounts to Php 2,613. Rechanneling these unused fees towards the graduation fee expenses would greatly benefit families who are suffering financially. 

The institution should be more transparent and considerate when it comes to their fees now that students and parents are suffering from financial difficulties due to the pandemic. They must listen to the complaints of students and parents and stop insisting that the tuition fee is “standard” or “fixed”. If they value their students enough, then they would ensure the welfare of their constituents, a consideration that they need. 

Students and parents deserve to have complete transparency in what they are paying for. FEU-Alabang should be more compassionate, now that the pandemic has impacted many lives, emotionally and economically.

Rechannel unused miscellaneous fees for Batch 2020-2021’s Graduation Expenses! We urge the administrators of Far Eastern University to heed the calls of their constituents.

#390NotEnough #FEUAWeDeserveBetter