No point worrying? Potential undergraduates, study-related debt, and the financial allure of higher education

Ertl, Hubert

doi:10.1080/03075079.2014.968542

Cited by 36 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Other recent studies suggest attitudes to debt among students and potential students are changing rapidly under the new arrangements. Several studies report students accepting debt as a 'fact of life' to which they are resigned, or in a minority of cases which they embrace as opening up opportunities (Harrison et al, 2015a;Esson & Ertl, 2016). Personality emerges as more salient than socio-economic background in considering debt aversion (Harrison & Chudry, 2011;Harrison et al, 2015b).…”

Section: Undergraduate Student Debtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is undergraduate debt an impediment to postgraduate enrolment in England?

Wakeling

Hampden‐Thompson

Hancock

2017

British Educational Res J

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Changes to undergraduate student funding arrangements in England have prompted concerns that increased indebtedness will deter graduates from postgraduate study. While it is clear that student debt has increased substantially in recent years, international evidence is equivocal on whether such debt is a deterrent to further study and there is hardly any prior research on this topic in the UK context. Using a large‐scale survey of 2009 and 2012 graduates from six selective English universities, we investigate the association between undergraduate debt, other graduate characteristics and progression to postgraduate study. We find some association of higher debt levels with lower rates of progression to postgraduate study, although this reduces when controlling for other factors, such as degree‐level attainment and subject discipline. Within a multivariate logistic regression model predicting progression to postgraduate study we find that debt is not a statistically significant predictor, although other characteristics are important. This indicates, we suggest, that underlying financial resources, rather than debt per se, are critical in enabling access to postgraduate study. We consider the implications of recently announced loans for postgraduate study in England given these findings.

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Section: Undergraduate Student Debtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is undergraduate debt an impediment to postgraduate enrolment in England?

Wakeling

Hampden‐Thompson

Hancock

2017

British Educational Res J

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“…They reason that higher education entry is gradually becoming the norm for students from various social backgrounds, so "students from working class backgrounds may feel compelled not to lose out and therefore opt to enroll" (Wilkins et al 2013, 12). Esson and Ertl (2016) observe variations in attitudes toward debt, tuition fees, and plans to enter higher education by the type of high school attended but conclude that, for the majority, tuition debt was not "a major factor in the decision whether or not to enter higher education" (8). This is because prospective students consider a higher education degree vital to securing employment in a competitive labor market while income-contingent loans mean the government and not the student is liable for any financial losses.…”

Section: Prospective Students' Attitudes Toward Debtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Student Loan Debt Deter Higher Education Participation? New Evidence from England

Callender¹,

Mason²

2017

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Scie

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Research among prospective UK undergraduates in 2002 found that some students, especially from low social classes, were deterred from applying to university because of fear of debt. This paper investigates whether this is still the case today in England despite the changing higher education landscape since 2002. The paper describes findings from a 2015 survey of prospective undergraduates and compares them with those from the 2002 study. We find that students' attitudes to taking on student loan debt are more favorable in 2015 than in 2002. Debt averse attitudes remain much stronger among lower-class students than among upperclass students, and more so than in 2002. However, lower-class students did not have stronger debt averse attitudes than middle-class students. Debt averse attitudes seem more likely to deter planned higher education participation among lower-class students in 2015 than in 2002. Key wordsStudent debt, debt aversion, loan aversion, higher education, student funding were undertaken student funding policies have changed dramatically and debt has risen sharply bringing into question the findings' relevance for today's students and public policy. 3Now most students in England have to borrow if they want to enter higher education.Moreover, this paper exploits a unique dataset derived from a survey of prospective students in 2002 and another in 2015, allowing us to examine changes in students' attitudes to debt over time and the role played by these policy reforms and shifting political and ideological contexts. This is central for understanding the continuing socio-economic inequalities in access to higher education. The shifting higher education landscapeThis section discusses the shifting higher education policy landscape including changes in student funding between 2002 and 2015 and implications for student debt. Student funding policy changes 2002-2015The evolution of higher education funding systems, in England and elsewhere, is dominated by prevailing political and ideological currents, rather than purely economic and pragmatic considerations. Recently England, like many countries, has moved from a system where the costs of funding higher education are shouldered primarily by taxpayers, through government subsidies, to one where students pay a larger share. This cost-sharing approach, a global phenomenon, seeks to increase the total resources available to higher education, especially from non-governmental or private sources (McMahon 2009;Johnstone and Marcucci 2010).3

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“…Typically, the contribution of higher education has been conceived in terms of its economic benefits, whether that be in terms of the economic impact of the sector as a whole (UUK 2015), the impact of institutions within their locale (Huggins and Johnston 2009;Lebeau and Bennion 2014;Zhang, Larkin, and Lucey 2017) or the economic impact on individual graduates (Kelly and McNicoll 1998;Esson and Ertl 2016). Moretti's (2004) examination of the 'social return' of higher education was framed in terms of conventional economic theory as being the collective economic value of being a graduate (i.e.…”

Section: Higher Education and Civic Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘civic premium’ of university graduates: the impact of massification on associational membership

Taylor

Fox

Evans

et al. 2019

Studies in Higher Education

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Considerable attention has been paid to the economic benefits of participating in higher education, particularly the 'economic premium' of graduates compared to non-graduates. Although the civic contribution of graduates has been widely acknowledged and discussed, there has been a dearth of empirical analysis that investigates this contribution. Furthermore, the massification of higher education in the UK, US, and many other countries, has had profound impacts on the higher education experience. But little is known about how changes to the form and function of mass higher education have impacted on the civic contribution of university graduates. This research attempts to address this by focussing specifically on associational membership of university graduates during their early adulthood. By calculating the 'civic premium' of UK graduates compared to their non-graduate peers over time we are able explore the relationship between associational membership and higher education participation following the massification of UK higher education.

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No point worrying? Potential undergraduates, study-related debt, and the financial allure of higher education

Cited by 36 publications

References 32 publications

Is undergraduate debt an impediment to postgraduate enrolment in England?

Is undergraduate debt an impediment to postgraduate enrolment in England?

Does Student Loan Debt Deter Higher Education Participation? New Evidence from England

The ‘civic premium’ of university graduates: the impact of massification on associational membership

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