A $100 graduate user fees and lackluster facilities—not to mention the proposal that they should all buy laptops—has some architecture students frustrated with the cost and quality of the education they receive from U of T.

“One hundred dollars a year, non-refundable, for shoddy desks, not enough stools, nothing—they’re just providing electricity,” said Jake Allderdice, a Master’s student at the Faculty of Architecture and Design. “There is a wireless network, but you have to have a wireless modem to use it.”

Rob Wright, Associate Dean of the Architecture and Design Program, said that incidental fees cover administrative costs of providing student round-the-clock access to studios.

“The locks have to be changed each year, and there’s other things that it covers, like printing,” he said.

Master’s student Meredith Robb doesn’t think the fee is too much to ask.

“A $100 fee, whether they work it into the incidental fees or not, is just a drop in the bucket when we’re paying so much in tuition,” she said.

Undergraduate students also have their share of problems because the facilities are mainly meant for graduate students, which some say puts them at a disadvantage.

Some see a lack of community in the Architecture department as being at the root of many problems, as students now work on their projects outside the building.

“No one comes into the studio or uses the space. Ten years ago, when I did my first degree, the studio would have been filled with activity,” said Allderdice, who blames the use of home computers—and insufficient desktop computers at the school—for the problem.

The school is also encouraging the student to buy laptops. However, Wright insists they are recommended but not required. He says they are helping student with financing issues and trying to broker the best deal possible.

Wright noted that if students choose to purchase the computers, it would be to their advantage. “When I was in school, no one bought my typewriter for me. The laptops will be useful to students in their careers,” he said.

U of T Vice President and Provost Adel Sedra believes the laptops should be made mandatory and part of a student’s incidental fees.

“I personally think it’s a good idea, if the program requires it…The good thing about requiring it is that it’s covered by OSAP that way,” said Sedra. He added that students with additional financial need would be able to have that addressed by U of T’s financial aid system.