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ART.ZIP: The RCA’s tuition fees are high. What does the RCA offer that’s different to other design schools?
MP: I think the tuition fee is enormous! However, it’s not because we want to make profits from it. The fees pay for the resources and the quality of education here. We are working hard to find bursaries and scholarships. It all takes long time. We have one fee that enables students to have access to many programmes and resources.
The number of staff to the number of students is really high here. We have a fifteen-to-one ratio. There’s not a professor hiding in a research lab away from students. There is a lot of intense contact time between students, as well as the teaching time. The students are there, and I’m here. I’m separated by 15 millimetres of glass, and I wouldn’t change it. If someone’s ill, you will know it, because we are so close.
The other thing is about resources. A big part of the RCA, is having access to workshops and facilities. Many universities are closing down workshops because they are expansive to run. We are expanding workshops. We now have a big floor of workshops beneath us, so the students could be designing something up here, and then run down to make it. And we have really great expert staff guiding students to create things. In two years time, we will finish the refurbishment here, where two floors are workshops. We are probably a little short of space now, but in two years time we will double it. So I know the tuition fee is high, but I can’t do very much about it. I know money is not been spent on irrelevant things, and facilities are getting better and better here. Even though the economic climate is harsh and support is hard to find, I think the RCA gives value for money.
ART.ZIP: 皇藝的學費十分高昂。您認為皇藝比起其他設計學院有什麼過人之處嗎？
MP: 這裡的學費真的貴得嚇人，但並不是我們想要從學生身上牟利，這些學費是為了支付最好的資源和保證高質量的教學。我們也努力地尋找資助和獎學金來幫助學生，但這個過程比較漫長。學生的一次性付費包含了幾乎全部的教學項目和資源。
另外我們師生比例也比較均衡，通常是一個老師對十五個學生。我們這裡沒有一個教授是躲在實驗室裡與學生隔絕的。除了上課的時間，我們和學生保持著十分緊密的聯繫。我和學生之間只隔著這15毫米的玻璃，如果有學生生病了，我們肯定知道，因為我們走得真的很近。
皇藝的資源是我們很值得驕傲的，大家都能自由使用各種設備和參加各類的工作坊。很多大學都紛紛關閉工作車間，因為運營起來成本實在很高。但是皇藝卻在擴大工作室和車間。學生們在二層進行設計，然後到一層的車間進行製作，我們有非常棒的專家教員指導學生如何進行各類的操作。現在我們的空間可能有點小，但是兩年后這裡的空間將翻一倍。我承認皇藝的學費很高昂，但是我知道這些錢并不是白花的，并沒有浪費在毫無意義的事情上，這裡的設備將越來越完善。儘管經濟大環境很艱難，資助也不容易找到，但我認為皇藝花的錢都落實用在對的地方。
