Access in free-tuition systems: A comparative perspective of the socio- economic background of students in countries with different tuition policies Author: Ariane de Gayardon de Fenoyl Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:107316 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2017 Copyright is held by the author. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0). Boston College Lynch School of Education Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education Program in Higher Education ACCESS IN FREE-TUITION SYSTEMS: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND OF STUDENTS IN COUNTRIES WITH DIFFERENT TUITION POLICIES Dissertation by ARIANE DE GAYARDON DE FENOYL submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2017 © Copyright 2017 Ariane de Gayardon de Fenoyl ACCESS IN FREE-TUITION SYSTEMS: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND OF STUDENTS IN COUNTRIES WITH DIFFERENT TUITION POLICIES Ariane de Gayardon de Fenoyl Advisor: Dr. Hans de Wit As higher education enters the 21st century, funding issues have evolved with continued massification and limited government funding (Johnstone & Marcucci, 2010). Increased reliance on students and their families to cover the cost of higher education have led to student demonstrations across the globe, their main demand being free tertiary education to improve equitable access (Bernasconi, 2012; Cloete, 2015; Taylor, 2014). This international comparative quantitative international study explores the relationship between tuition fees policies, and more specifically tuition-free policies, and equitable access in three Latin American countries. Participation, college choice, and attrition decisions are analyzed through the lens of the financial and cultural capitals of students, using 2011 and 2013 data from socio-economic surveys in Chile – a high tuition fees country, and Brazil and Argentina – two countries with free public higher education. The findings suggest that tuition fees policies do not carry the importance students think it does. Countries with tuition-free public higher education seem to have similar issues, if not worse, than tuition-charging countries in ensuring equitable access and success for students from low socio-economic backgrounds. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation could not be complete without the recognition of all those who, during my time in Boston, have helped, supported, and advised me, and made these 4 years a great adventure. It is only fitting that I start by expressing my gratitude to my committee for their academic support and encouragement. I would like to particularly acknowledge Dr. Hans de Wit for agreeing to chair my committee, being always available (in-between travels) and for providing so many insightful and quick feedbacks. I am grateful to Dr. Ana Martinez-Aleman for pushing me to become a better researcher by encouraging me to always critique my and others’ studies. Finally, Dr. Henry Braun has been instrumental to the completion of this dissertation, and I thank him for sharing some of his immense quantitative knowledge with me. I would not even have started this dissertation if it weren’t for Dr. Philip Altbach and Dr. Laura Rumbley who decided 4 years ago to welcome me at the Center for International Higher Education. They have both been incredible support, especially by always being available for discussion and brainstorming, and they provided me with countless advice and opportunities in the past 4 years. I am also thankful to my colleagues at CIHE: Yukiko Shimmi and Dave Stanfield for their friendship, for sharing their experience, and for demystifying the PhD process; Georgiana Mihut, who sat two years next to me, for being an efficient and thoughtful researcher, with whom I had the pleasure of working; as well as Kara Godwin for her inexhaustible enthusiasm. v I am grateful to have been able to share this experience with an amazing cohort made of great scholars, and I am glad to finish it alongside Alana Anderson, Kevin Gin, and Brian Swenson. Et bien sûr tout ceci n’aurait pas été envisageable si ce n’est pour le soutien de ma famille et mes amis, même de loin. Sans eux, je ne serai pas en train d’écrire ces lignes, et j’espère qu’ils en sont conscients. *** I am additionally grateful to the various administrative entities that provide public access to their socio-economic surveys: the Ministerio de Desarollo Social in Chile for the CASEN data, the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica in Brazil for the PNAD data, and the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos in Argentina for the EPH data. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ vi LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... xii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xiv 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Research Problem and Purpose ............................................................................................... 3 Key Terms and Scope ................................................................................................................ 5 Research Questions ................................................................................................................... 6 Research Significance ................................................................................................................ 7 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................ 8 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 11 Positionality .............................................................................................................................. 12 Chapter Outline ....................................................................................................................... 12 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 13 2. FINANCING HIGHER EDUCATION ................................................................ 14 The Rising Cost of Higher Education .................................................................................... 14 The Cost Disease ................................................................................................................... 15 Technology ............................................................................................................................ 17 Competition ........................................................................................................................... 18 Massification and its Impact on Costs ................................................................................... 20 Theory and Reality ................................................................................................................ 20 Reasons for Higher Demand ................................................................................................. 23 Massification and Cost .......................................................................................................... 24 vii Higher Education as a Public Good ....................................................................................... 24 Economic Benefits ................................................................................................................ 26 Social Benefits ...................................................................................................................... 28 Financial Austerity and Fragility ........................................................................................... 30 Scarce Public Resources ....................................................................................................... 31 Austerity ................................................................................................................................ 32 Fragility ................................................................................................................................. 34 Higher Education as a Private Good ..................................................................................... 36 Economic Benefits ................................................................................................................ 37 Social Benefits ...................................................................................................................... 37 Rate of Return on Higher Education ..................................................................................... 38 The Concept of Cost-Sharing ................................................................................................. 40 The Different Forms of Cost-Sharing ................................................................................... 40