Tuition Fees and Student Participation Lessons from Austria

1
Tuition Fees and Student ParticipationLessons
from Austria

• Hans Pechar
• University of Klagenfurt, Austria

2
Why is Austria an interesting case?

• The re-introduction of tuition fees in 2001
  resulted in a decline of enrolments (20) and
  first entrants (14)
• Conflicting interpretations
• Opponents of fees one fifth of the student
  population can no longer afford higher education.
  Even small fees result in decline of student
  participation.
• Austria had a large number of paper students
  (without detectable study activity). The decrease
  of enrolments is caused by drop-out of paper
  students. Decline of new students is due to
  postponed enrolment.
• empirical evidence for the 2nd interpretation.

3
Overview

• The laissez faire characteristics of Austrian
  higher education
• Stages of tuition fee policies in Austria
• The impact of fees on participation at the
  tertiary level

4
Why do we have paper students?

• For decades, Austria has a laissez faire
  system this is a heritage of the Humboldtian
  tradition which does no longer fit into the
  realities of mass higher education
• 3 pillars of laissez faire
• High degree of freedom in teaching and learning
  (little formal obligation for students and
  teachers)
• Open access (graduates from Gymnasia are entitled
  to enrol at any university for an unlimited
  period)
• No fees
• As a whole, these conditions resulted in high
  drop out, long duration of studies and a high
  number of paper students. Indicators for 2000
  (prior to the introduction of fees and the
  implementation of Bologna)
• Almost 50 drop-out
• On average 7 ½ years for the 1st degree (
  Master)
• Estimates about paper students vary between 5
  and 50

5
Are paper students a problem?

• A fictional problem (but very prominent in the
  public debate) they are a financial burden on
  universities. This is based on the assumption
  that paper students use the resources of a
  university in the same way as active students.
• The real problem enrolment data and other
  statistics are not reliable. This causes problems
  at the policy level and at the institutional
  level. The debate about fees illustrates this
  problem.

6
Stages of tuition fee policies 1 abolition in
1972

• policy objectives
• encourage increase of participation in higher
  education
• remove mental barriers against participation at
  lower income families
• reduce social, regional, and gender disparities
  in participation at tertiary level.
• public debt was not yet a major policy issue
• increase of student numbers was matched by
  growing public expenditures

7
Stages of tuition fee policies 2 A new debate
in the mid-1980s

• In the mid-1980s the situation had changed
• no longer strong commitment to expansion of
  higher education
• Fiscal consolidation a policy priority
• decrease in per capita expenditures for
  universities
• Advocates of fees
• The no-fees-policy has not effectively removed
  social disparities in participation
• The middle classes get most benefits from public
  expenditures for higher education. There are more
  effective ways to support low income students.
• It is feasible to design a fee policy which does
  not create financial barriers for low income
  students.
• Oponents of fees
• Higher education is a public good
• Low income students are excluded female students
  will be mainly affected
• Financial pressures undermine the quality of
  education

8
Stages of tuition fee policies 3
re-introduction of fees in 2001

• fees amounting 363 Euro per semester are charged
  since 2001/02 some justified criticism
• fees were no additional income of universities
  but collected by the treasury it was a student
  tax to facilitate fiscal consolidation.
• flat fees which do not allow for a
  differentiation of full-time and part-time
  students students who combine study with work
  pay more
• Do fees function as a social barrier for students
  from low income families?
• With 363 Euro per semester, the amount of fees is
  relatively low.
• In addition, students who are eligible for
  student aid are exempted from fees
• Empirical evidence no decline of active students

9
A forecast for 2001

• New statistical data enabled a serious estimate
  of paper students in 1999 data about
  examinations were collected at the system level.
  40 of all enrolled students did not even make
  one exam.
• Assumptions of the forecast
• Only a minority (20) of students without exam
  are active
• Paper students would not enroll as soon as fees
  are charged
• Fees have no impact on active students (who have
  already made an investment)
• Initially, new entrants would decline for 5-10
  in the following years, first enrolments would
  again rise to the prior level.
• Forecast for 2001
• total enrolments - 30 this is mainly advanced
  drop-out of paper students
• First entrants - 5-10 this is due to postponed
  enrolment

10
actual enrolments in 2001

• significant differences to the forecast
• Decline of new entrants higher than estimated
  (14)
• Decline of total enrolments smaller than
  estimated (20)
• Why did we overestimate the number of paper
  students?
• Insufficient quality of exam-statistics in 2001
  a second data set was available (for 2000)
  better data quality when we combined the data of
  1999 and 2000, the number of inactive students
  decreased to 25. It is plausible that 5
  inactive students enrol even if they have to pay
  fees.
• Why did we underestimate the decline of new
  entrants?
• Different enrolment patterns of traditional and
  non-traditional students small decrease for
  young, large decrease for older age cohorts (-40
  for new entrants older than 25).
• We did not consider the strong shift to the
  Fachhochschulen

11
First entrants at universities and Fachhochschulen
12
A second look to the data new developments

• Total enrolments
• Active students at universities FHs increased
  over the whole period
• First entrants
• In 2003, first entrants at universities have
  already surpassed the figures for 2000
• Gender bias?
• In 2001, decline was stronger for men than for
  women

13
retrospective estimate of active students
14
total enrolments official statistics vs active
students at universities and Fachhochschulen,
1996-2001
15
First entrants at universities 2000-2003
16
Conclusions

• While the figures of the forecast were not very
  accurate, the substance of our interpretation has
  proved true.
• The introduction of (very modest) fees has not
  negatively affected active student participation.
• After an initial decline of new students, the
  number of first entrants continues to grow in the
  following years.