University Access Amid Tuition Fee Deregulation: Evidence from Ontario Professional Programs

Abstract

Previous studies investigating university enrolment amid rising tuition fees have focused on undergraduate programs during the 1990s. Typically, little or no changes in enrolment patterns were observed, possibly because the fee increases were small in absolute terms and quite gradual. This study examines the impact of a very large and sudden deregulation of tuition fees in Ontario professional programs in the late 1990s. The findings suggest that enrolment patterns by socioeconomic background changed substantially in Ontario, where the deregulation of professional programs was most prominent. In Quebec and British Columbia, where fees remained stable, no change in enrolment patterns was registered.