Money for nothing: Estimating the impact of student aid on participation in higher education

Dearden, Lorraine; Fitzsimons, Emla; Wyness, Gill

doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2014.09.005

Cited by 54 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…7 To help cover living expenses while enrolled, low-income students could apply to the government for maintenance grants, and all students could obtain small government maintenance loans to be repaid via mortgage-style payment plans after graduation (Dearden et al, 2014).…”

Section: Challenges During England's Free College Eramentioning

confidence: 99%

The End of Free College in England: Implications for Quality, Enrolments, and Equity

Murphy¹,

Scott-Clayton²,

Wyness³

2017

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Despite increasing financial pressures on higher education systems throughout the world, many governments remain resolutely opposed to the introduction of tuition fees, and some countries and states where tuition fees have been long established are now reconsidering free higher education. This paper examines the consequences of charging tuition fees on university quality, enrolments, and equity. To do so, we study the English higher education system which has, in just two decades, moved from a free college system to one in which tuition fees are among the highest in the world. Our findings suggest that England's shift has resulted in increased funding per head, rising enrolments, and a narrowing of the participation gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students. In contrast to other systems with high tuition fees, the English system is distinct in that its income-contingent loan system keeps university free at the point of entry, and provides students with comparatively generous assistance for living expenses. We conclude that tuition fees, at least in the English case supported their goals of increasing quality, quantity, and equity in higher education

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Section: Challenges During England's Free College Eramentioning

confidence: 99%

The End of Free College in England: Implications for Quality, Enrolments, and Equity

Murphy¹,

Scott-Clayton²,

Wyness³

2017

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“…Studies from the UK and Europe are rarer, perhaps due to the lack of clean policy "experiments" and data. Nevertheless, Dearden et al [15], and Nielsen et al [16] again find positive effects of aid on enrolment. Also of relevance to this paper are studies that look at the impact of aid on college attainment, rather than college enrolment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Deserving Poor: Are Higher Education Bursaries Going to the Right Students?

Wyness

2016

Education Sciences

Self Cite

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After the abolition of student maintenance grants in 2016, higher education bursaries will be the major source of non-repayable aid for poor students in England, with £300 m spent per year. The aims of the bursary system were never explicitly laid out by government, making it challenging to evaluate this unique form of aid. In this paper, I examine the bursary system on the grounds of equity and efficiency, using a unique dataset collected from 22 universities. I show that the bursary system is inequitable; as a direct consequence of the decentralized nature of the system, there are vast inequalities in aid receipt among poor students. Nevertheless, I find that the poorest, most able students tend to receive the most bursary aid, suggesting the system could be seen as efficient. Clearer guidance from government on the purpose of bursaries is required in order to understand whether the system is meeting its aims, and how it could be improved.

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“…In the developed countries such as the UK, much of the funding recent debate in higher education has been both about value for money and about widening participation. This debate has been triggered by the severe cuts into university funding in the last few years, with many courses no longer receiving government subsidy and students required to make large contribution to their education by way of tuition fees of £9000 per year which the government contends is value for money and widens participation while critics disagree (Dearden et al 2014). In the low-income countries, notably sub-Saharan Africa, it is far much more than value for money.…”

Section: State Versus the Marketmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financing higher education in sub-Saharan Africa: some reflections and implications for sustainable development

Oketch

2016

High Educ

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The purpose of this article is to discuss how best to finance higher education in low-income countries of sub-Saharan Africa, drawing on benefits and drawbacks of the prevalent models of higher education finance, and lessons to be learned from countries which have seen greater expansion of their higher education systems in recent decades. Two main aspects are distinguished: first, a recognition of the powerful evidence that the general level of education in a country, its human capital, matters in determining a path to economic development; second, understanding that it does not help to produce large number of unemployed graduates whose only option due to absence of jobs is to engage in rent-seeking activities which in the end undermine both the essence of the human capital investment made, and job creation to be associated with human capital skills. Three areas are discussed, fully publicly financed ''free'' university education model; feasibility and lessons about fees; feasibility and lessons about loans. In addition, the paper makes suggestions on the measures to widen participation and promote equity and quality.

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Money for nothing: Estimating the impact of student aid on participation in higher education

Cited by 54 publications

References 8 publications

The End of Free College in England: Implications for Quality, Enrolments, and Equity

The End of Free College in England: Implications for Quality, Enrolments, and Equity

Deserving Poor: Are Higher Education Bursaries Going to the Right Students?

Financing higher education in sub-Saharan Africa: some reflections and implications for sustainable development

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