The JCR Levy

The JCR, in order to operate and provide the wider student experience at the beginning of your time with us we ask for a one-off payment, this is referred to as the JCR Levy. The money collected from JCR Levy payments is all invested into the JCR and the wider student experience and spent back on students (you)!

Students find that the JCR Levy has often ‘paid for itself’ after their first year at Durham in their College. You can purchase the JCR levy here.

For 2024/25, the price of the JCR Levy are as follows:

  • 3 Year Undergraduate Course (incl. Placement and Year abroad) - £165

  • 4 Year Integrated Masters - £190

  • Postgraduates - £30

  • As Treasurer, I have been elected to manage the JCR finances, and part of this job is to set a realistic levy fee that will allow the common room to operate effectively. Therefore, I have met with the President-elect and discussed our scope to adjust this fee for our incoming 24/25 cohort. We have consulted the DSO and have been advised that we are able to adjust the levy at our discretion, but regardless, we would still like to open this up to the members for feedback. 

     

    We propose a £15 increase in the 3-year Undergraduate levy, from £150 to £165. This decision was made for a few reasons. Firstly, our levy price has remained constant over the past few years, despite significant inflation. Given that the bulk of our income consists of 3-year levies, it is important we increase this fee to allow us to deliver an enriched student experience, and not have to scale back/ decrease the frequency of JCR events due to budgetary limitations. Given our age, we cannot rely on alumni support to bridge the gap in funding, so we must bring the South JCR levy in line with the University average of £165. 

     

    We have further decided to differentiate between the cost students pay on 3-year and 4-year courses. We didn’t feel it was fair that students should pay the same amount, but benefit an additional year of JCR funding, so we have increased the cost to those on 4-year programmes by £25 to £190. 

     

    For MCR members, a fee of £30 per year will be charged, a decrease of £20. Our South College JCR, plainly, has not been orientated towards Postgraduate students, and PG involvement in the JCR has been minimal over the past few years, hence, less budget has been dedicated to PG members. To recognise this, the fee has been decreased. We hope that, as PG involvement improves over the coming year, and we can improve the benefits of being a JCR member to our PG students, this fee, along with the others, can be revised accordingly. 

What does the JCR Levy entitle you to?

The JCR Levy is an opt in system, if you opt-in and pay the JCR Levy, it entitles you to…

Our Sports and Societies

  • Allows you to join any and as many South College Sports and Societies as you want! (Please note that in some cases there may be additional fees for joining clubs and societies).

  • Compete at a Collegiate level for College.

  • Allows you to create new Sports and Societies with help including finding spaces and funding from the JCR.

  • Allow you to run for Sports and Societies Executive positions such as Captain, President and Treasurer.

events

  • Receive heavily discounted tickets for JCR events such as the Winter Ball, Summer Ball, College Day and Freshers’ Week.

  • In some cases, where there are limited spaces, priority booking.

  • Allows you to attend JCR-only events.

The JCR

  • Run for JCR Committee, Welfare and EDI Committee Reps and Frep positions within the JCR.

  • Allows you to vote in JCR council and in JCR elections.

  • Free hire of JCR equipment.

  • Save on gym membership at the South College Gym.

If you decide not to opt-into the JCR Levy…

  • You will NOT be able to receive discounted or priority ticket rates.

  • You will NOT be able to participate in South College Sports and Societies.

  • You can NOT hold an exec position on a sporting team, or society, or on the JCR committee.

  • You will be invoiced for any tickets you have purchased at a discounted rate previous to opting out.