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Fines: Where does the money go?

Money taken in fines is redistributed in varying ways in different colleges.

Some, such as Exeter, put the money recouped towards student hardship funds. Wadham, Mansfield, Pembroke, St. Hugh’s, and Harris Manchester all also put fined money towards student support – although with each college there is often a small amount of money set aside for administration costs.

Exeter, for example, feel that, “£30 is deemed as a reasonable administration charge for having to continually chase students to pay their battels.”
Other colleges, such as Merton, donate the proceeds of fines towards JCR nominated charities – an approach mirrored by the University’s Proctors who vote at the end of each academic year on a charity to donate to. Often the charity chosen has a connection to students.

Colleges such as St. Hilda’s and New put money towards “general academic purposes”.

Largely, fines for overdue library fines or other library indiscretions are reinvested into library infrastructure.

For example, all of the £7,728 and £4,462 raised through Library fines by Exeter and New Colleges respectively is streamed directly back to the two college’s libraries to assist with library purchases.

The Universiy’s policy on reinvesting library fines is similar, fines remain “within the libraries but is not directly allocated to any particular purpose.”

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