Thawing the tuition freeze: The politics of policy change in comparative perspective

Abstract

This study examines the process by which two provinces made major change in tuition policies in Canada. The approach uses two alternative theories of policy change, the advocacy coalition framework and multiple streams of problems, policies, and politics. Using purposive sampling, the two cases selected were from British Columbia and Manitoba, and data were collected through systematic investigation using two key research tools: content analysis of relevant documentary materials and interviews of policy actors.

Tuition Policy Instruments in Canada Public Policy Choices for What Problems

“…Further insights can be drawn from Canadian higher education studies to date. In studies of higher education finance policy formation, Canadian decision makers have been found to be responsive to economic and financial environmental factors as well as influenced by political ideology (Rexe, 2014;2015b), public opinion (Rounce, 2012), and the broader shift to marketization in education (Young, 2002). Choice of policy instruments appears to be influenced by institutional or structural arrangements (Charles, 2011;Smith, 2011) as well as policy history and legacy policy decisions (Saunders, 2006;Trick, 2005).…”

“…Recently in a related area, Díaz (2016) explored specific accountability policy instruments used to steer institutions in the Ontario system, focussing on the negotiated character of the relationship between government and universities. Empirical scholarship on the politics of Canadian tuition fee policy formation is relatively scarce (Bégin-Caouette and Jones, 2014;Neill, 2009;Rexe, 2015aRexe, , 2015bRounce, 2012); more commonly these policy studies focus on the policy impacts of tuition fees on access and affordability. Notwithstanding these recent developments, there remains a gap between the well conceptualized analytical approaches deployed in the policy science literature and the state of empirical scholarship in Canadian higher education studies.…”