University Enrollment and Gratuidad (Tuition-Free Program): Educational Mobility and Territorial Mobility in a Non-Metropolitan Region of Chile

Abstract

After intense student mobilization processes, in 2016 the Chilean State created the funding mechanism known as gratuidad (tuition-free program) to pursue higher education. It is supposed that this mechanism rationalizes State aid and encourages usually excluded groups to enroll at universities, but the evidence is controversial. Using administrative data from the Region de Los Lagos students, the universe that entered the university in 2018 is compared to the subgroup that additionally accessed to gratuidad. The association between social characteristics of origin and access to the university is examined, both from the perspective of educational mobility and territorial mobility. The results show that students from lower socioeconomic status access to universities mainly in the region where they reside. It is concluded that the tuition-free program is well focused, although, by itself, it does not remove all the barriers to greater socioeconomic and territorial equity.