UCD STUDENTS' union has pressed the Higher Education Authority to intervene in the row over fees for repeat examinations and deferrals.

The union's education officer, Cormac Moore, has asked the HEA to get the university authorities to justify the charges imposed and to provide a full breakdown of costs. A spokesman for the HEA said it was looking into the matter.

A meeting of the students' union council earlier this month recommended that the university should be accountable for the fees charged. The college has stated that its repeat and deferral fees are in line with those charged in other colleges. The union argues that the deferral fee has increased from £30 to £103 since last year, and that this increase is unjustifiable.

The registrar of the university, Dr Caroline Hussey, last week responded to the union by stating the college was "not specifically accountable to students" and that the deferral fee was also a "deterrent" to students who might be considering a deferral.

"I'm concerned about every fee being charged by the college," Moore says. "We are major stakeholders in the college and we should have a right to this information."