Tuition Levels Research Articles

Student loan debt and family formation of youth in Japan

ABSTRACT Since the late 1990s, the number of college student loan debtors has increased rapidly in Japan. Despite the uniqueness of Japanese higher education policies in terms of tuition levels and heavy reliance on educational loans rather than grants, few studies have focused on the influence of student loans on adult youths’ lives. This study is the first to provide a detailed analysis of the relationship between student loan debt and youth life events. We explored the impact of student loan debt on family formation, using a data set of college graduates collected in 2017. We employed survival analysis methods to understand the relationship between student loan debt and marital decisions, and negative binomial models to analyze the impact of this debt on childbearing. The results showed that 2-year college graduate women with student loan debt were more likely to delay marital decisions than women without student loan debt. Taking out student loans also had a negative correlation to childbearing, which was also stronger for 2-year college graduate women. In conclusion, this study revealed that the Japanese government’s reliance on student loans has unexpected consequences. Even following recent reforms, student loan debt continues to be a major financial burden for young Japanese people and is likely to negatively affect family formation in Japan, which has already seen a decline in marriage and fertility rates over the last few decades. Our results call for additional policies to mitigate the negative influence of the Japanese college student aid system.

Does Tuition-Setting Authority Determine Whether Tuition Increases at Community Colleges with New Promise Programs?

ABSTRACT We evaluate whether the Bennett Hypothesis applies to local-level, single-institution promise programs and account for whether colleges have the authority to raise tuition, versus an external entity holding such authority. Using a sample of 29 community colleges affected by promise programs, we analyze changes in tuition across years 2001–02 to 2015–16 using two-way fixed effects difference-in-differences (DD) analyses, robust and weighted DD estimators, and panel event-studies. Among colleges with the sole authority to set their own tuition, the implementation of a promise program produces 14–17% lower tuition rates, suggesting that colleges do not strategically raise rates to capture promise-based financial aid dollars. When a governor or legislature is the sole entity that sets tuition, colleges experience negligible changes to slight declines in tuition levels, demonstrating that elected officials attempt to keep tuition rates stable or lower. When a statewide, systemwide, or local board retains tuition-setting authority, colleges observe no changes to tuition. Overall, our findings suggest a unique scenario for single-institution programs, where the college initiates or partners with a promise program; these colleges are motivated to keep tuition low to avoid counteracting affordability policies.

Electoral Accountability for Rising Tuition in the US: Evidence from a Survey Experiment and Observational Data

ABSTRACT Tuition levels in the US have been rising at an above-the-inflation pace, leading to spiraling student debt levels and negative effects on students’ well-being. While student outcomes of rising tuition are well known, the political reasons behind the decisions of policy makers to contain tuition increases or not remain poorly understood. In this article, we focus on electoral accountability that policy makers face for rising tuition by examining voters’ reactions. Using a survey experiment with a sample of US adults (N = 1040), we show that clarity of responsibility is an important factor affecting reactions to rising tuition levels. When voters are informed about the role of the government in tuition setting, they are more likely to vote out policy makers responsible for cuts in funding. We show a similar relationship in observational data using a nationally representative survey from Cooperative Congressional Election Study. State governors’ approval is lower in states where tuition levels increased recently, and the relationship is moderated by the visibility of government in tuition-setting. By demonstrating that policy makers face repercussions for rising tuition but are able to avoid blame in certain conditions, we contribute to scholarly understanding of preferences of policy makers in higher education.

Associations between career choice and educational debt for fourth-year students of US veterinary schools and colleges, 2001-2021.

To determine whether career choice and starting salary of new DVM graduates in the US were associated with their educational debt accrued during veterinary school. Up to 48,527 fourth-year students at US veterinary schools who responded to the AVMA Senior Survey in 2001 through 2021 and accepted a full-time position or advanced education opportunity. To determine whether career choice was associated with educational debt, multiple linear regression was performed, controlling for graduation year, gender, age, marital status, having children, tuition level, and school location. The correlation between educational debt and starting salary was also determined. On average, mean educational debt increased by $6,110 each successive year. A mean of 60.5% of respondents accepted positions in private practice (public practice, 3.3%; advanced education, 36.2%). Respondents choosing public practice had a mean of $24,913 less debt than those choosing advanced education, controlling for other factors. Respondents choosing public practice also had less debt than those choosing private practice, but debt did not differ significantly between private practice and advanced education. The correlation between educational debt and starting salary was significant but low (r = 0.177). Findings suggested that the amount of debt incurred during veterinary school was associated with new veterinarians' career paths. Notably, graduates with higher debt levels appeared to seek higher paying jobs or clinical training that might lead to higher paying jobs, leaving public practice-a field in which critical needs have been identified-underrepresented despite the availability of loan forgiveness programs and other incentives.

Reactions: Highlighting LGBTQ+ chemists and rising tuition levels

Reactions: Highlighting LGBTQ+ chemists and rising tuition levels

Progressivity of pricing at US public universities

Substantial increases in public university tuition often raise concerns about college affordability. But assessment of the impacts on low- and moderate-income families requires consideration of whether net tuition—tuition less grant aid—has increased commensurately. This paper describes recent shifts in net tuition by family income and institution type and assesses the role of changes in state funding in generating these shifts. Using data reported by universities on net tuition paid by students from different family income levels, we find that public research universities have increasingly shifted to high-tuition, high-aid pricing. From 2012 to 2018, net tuition fell by far more than would have been predicted by the growth in state appropriations, while tuition levels continued to rise, albeit at a slower rate than in the prior years. The increased progressivity in pricing, particularly among research universities, cannot be explained by changes in state appropriations.

Progressivity of Pricing at Us Public Universities

Substantial increases in public university tuition often raise concerns about college affordability. But assessment of the impacts on low- and moderate-income families requires consideration of whether net tuition—tuition less grant aid—has increased commensurately. This paper describes recent shifts in net tuition by family income and institution type and assesses the role of changes in state funding in generating these shifts. Using data reported by universities on net tuition paid by students from different family income levels, we find that public research universities have increasingly shifted to high-tuition, high-aid pricing. From 2012 to 2017, net tuition fell by far more than would have been predicted by the growth in state appropriations, while tuition levels continued to rise, albeit at a slower rate than in the prior years. The increased progressivity in pricing, particularly among research universities, cannot be explained by changes in state appropriations.

State Higher Education Funding During COVID-19: Lessons From Prior Recessions and Implications for Equity

States provide substantial support for higher education through appropriations to public colleges and universities that can be used to maintain relatively low tuition levels and funds for financial aid. Higher education often receives disproportionate cuts during recessionary periods, and it faces potentially unprecedented reductions in coming years amid a pandemic that has left some states with revenue shortfalls. How states approach higher education cuts has the potential to exacerbate existing inequities among racially minoritized and low-income students and historically underfunded institution types. In this study, we document trends in higher education funding over time and use latent profile analysis to identify distinct approaches states have taken to higher education funding. We then examine the trajectories of higher education funding within each approach over time, particularly during prior recessions. We conclude by discussing the implications of each approach for equity, particularly in light of states’ early responses to the current economic downturn.

Old Neoliberalism in the US University

Old Neoliberalism in the US University

Road Wary: Mobility, Law, and the Problem of Escape

In this article, I consider how the phenomenon of individuals relocating for temporary periods, as has been the case during the COVID-19 crisis, raises interesting and significant issues for modern law and public policy. We should attend to what I call the problem of “escape” through imaginative legal and policy solutions, even while accepting as inevitable the demand of Americans to fleeing for what they see as comparatively greener pastures.

Estimating the Spillover Effects of the Tennessee Promise: Exploring Changes in Tuition, Fees, and Enrollment

Tuition-free college policies have gained momentum since the implementation of the Tennessee Promise, which provides financial aid to students pursuing two-year post-secondary degrees in Tennessee. While previous research has addressed the effects of similar programs on student outcomes, scholars have yet to thoroughly investigate potential spillover effects of Promise policies on colleges that are ineligible for Promise funds. In this paper, I leverage a difference-in-differences design to explore changes in enrollment and tuition and fees at institutions eligible and ineligible for Tennessee Promise funds. First, I find that in-state enrollment increased significantly at public Promise eligible institutions (mainly public two-year and technical colleges) and in-state enrollment decreased at public four-year colleges that are ineligible to receive Promise funds. Moreover, out-of-state enrollment increased at Promise ineligible public four-year colleges after the Promise was implemented. Second, I find that Black student enrollment declined by 1-2 percentage points at private colleges ineligible for Promise funds. Finally, public colleges eligible for Promise funds raised tuition after the Tennessee Promise was implemented. Together, these findings indicate that in the aftermath of the Tennessee Promise, there were significant changes in enrollment and tuition levels across institutions eligible and ineligible for Promise funds.

The Rise of For-Profit Higher Education: A General Equilibrium Analysis

The growth of for-profit colleges has been historically aided by online instruction, and budget crunches at public institutions, circumstances which have resurfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic. We set up and calibrate a general equilibrium model of competition between public and for-profit institutions in the U.S. four-year college market. Our predicted levels of tuition, instructional spending and average student body ability match data counterparts well. In policy experiments, we vary the generosity of public support for higher education and we consider the effects of “gainful employment” legislation that would link access to federal funding for universities to their graduates’ debt-to-earnings ratios. We find that Pell Grant cap increases would benefit for-profit colleges, which flexibly decrease tuition and instructional spending to attract a higher number of low-income beneficiaries. Our simulations indicate for-profit colleges prefer to comply with gainful employment standards, but do so by lowering tuition and instructional quality.

Should Higher Education Be Subsidized More?

Fiscal externalities arise if subsidies to higher education raise future net fiscal revenues. We investigate in which countries fiscal externalities provide a justification for increasing subsidies to higher education. First, we show that the marginal fiscal recovery rate, i.e. the ratio of the change in total net fiscal revenues and the change in total subsidy costs caused by a small change in tuition subsidies, is the key statistic: if larger than one, then a small increase in subsidies is unambiguously desirable. We also show that the marginal fiscal recovery rate depends on three sufficient statistics: the elasticity of participation with respect to subsidies, the success probability of the marginal student, and the ratio of the net fiscal revenue gain and the subsidy cost of a degree in tertiary education. Second, we use the sufficient statistics formula to approximate the marginal fiscal recovery rate in twenty OECD countries. The average marginal fiscal recovery rate is equal to 0.89, meaning that, on average, 0.89 euro is recovered of an increase in subsidies with one euro. This average hides substantial heterogeneity between countries. In six countries (Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States), the marginal fiscal recovery rate is larger than one, implying that an increase in subsidies to higher education is unambiguously desirable in these countries. Third, to check the quality of our approximation, we also simulate the marginal fiscal recovery rate for one country (Belgium) on the basis of a more detailed model that allows for heterogeneity between students. Reassuringly, this simulation provides a roughly similar result than the approximation for this country. Moreover, the more detailed model allows for additional simulations (e.g., to compute a maximal tuition level) that are not feasible with the sufficient statistics formula.

Soft Power of Higher Education as a Global Leadership Factor

Introduction. The main objectives of foreign policy of any state include the extension of its influence in the international arena. In the era of information and knowledge, one of the most effective tools for this task is soft power of education. In this respect, education is seen as a promising soft power instrument, which long-term character allows a country to promote not only its cultural, scientific and technological achievements, but also its cultural values and norms of social organisation. Today, universities are also seeking to strengthen their positions in global education rankings, which are used to define the status and reputation of a particular university in the global market of educational services. This ranking serves as a guide for future students and their parents, when choosing a prestigious education location and when developing individual career paths.The aims of the present research are the following: to analyse soft power of higher education as a soft power mechanism, which allows a country to achieve and maintain leadership positions in the international arena; to specify conditi ons, factors and barriers that determine the position of universities in global ranking systems.Methodology and research methods. The methodological framework is based on the concept of soft power and the theory of internationalisation of higher education. The empirical study was conducted following the tradition of qualitative sociological research. In 2018, a series of semi-structured interviews was conducted among Ural Federal University employees, whose responsibilities were related to the promotion of the university on the global educational market. The Ural Federal University (UrFU) can be considered representative in terms of practices aimed at attracting foreign students to the BRICS countries. In addition, UrFU is a place where the concept of a network BRICS University was realised in 2017. A total of 5 expert interviews were conducted. The collected data were analysed in the context of the World Bank statistics on the money spent by the BRICS countries on education and R&D during the 1999–2015 period (% of GDP), as well as the data provided by the QS World University Rankings – 2019 to analyse the reputation of BRICS universities.Results and scientific novelty. The case study of Ural Federal University allowed the authors to consider the specific practices of BRICS zones for attracting foreign students. The authors analysed the specifics of actions taken by a university to promote its international leadership positions in the international space on the example of students from China. It is shown that the role of global ranking systems (institutional and faculty) in the choice of a university is steadily growing. At the same time, factors determining the attractiveness of the Ural Federal University for foreign students, in particular for Chinese students, include a reasonable level of tuition, the quality of the education and the formed ethnic social networks. For them, the Russian education is expected to be a factor in achieving a higher social status in their home countries. This demonstrates the effective role of education as a soft power instrument, although in the long-term perspective. The authors identified a number of findings concerning the barriers faced by Russian universities on the way to recognising them as global actors of higher vocational education. It is possible to enter the Top 500 best world universities; however, the task of maintaining the achieved position in global rankings is more complicated and cannot be completed without a steady increase in the performance over several years. A world-class university should attract gifted youth, qualified teachers and researchers. The reduction in the number of talented people and research results leads to the loss of geopolitical mission by the educational organisation. Inadequate funding may prevent universities from breakthrough and sustainable improvement of their reputation.Practical significance. The research findings might be useful for managers of higher education and for strategists involved in positioning and making forecasts of educational institutions development. Also, the present findings can be applied by specialists engaged in the issues of educational policy, distribution of public investments, as well as the issues of international interaction and competition between states in order to realise national interests and support national economy in the country in the long term.

Cartel Control of Attorney Licensure and the Public Interest*

Abstract The purpose of regulating any profession is to assure competent practitioners, particularly where its absence can cause irreparable harm. Regulatory “licensing” ideally achieves such assurance, while at the same time avoiding unnecessary supply constriction. The latter can mean much higher prices and an inadequate number of practitioners. Regrettably, the universal delegation to attorneys of the power to regulate themselves has led to a lose/lose system lacking protection from incompetent practice while also diminishing needed supply. The problem is manifest in four regulatory flaws: First, state bars—in combination with the American Bar Association—require four years of largely irrelevant higher education for law school entry. Most of this coursework commonly has nothing to do with law. Second, and related, these seven-years of mandatory higher education (that only the United States requires for attorney licensure) impose extraordinary costs. Those costs now reach from $190,000 to $380,000 in tuition and room and board per student—driven by shocking tuition levels lacking competitive check. Third, attorney training focuses almost entirely on a few traditional subjects, with little attention paid to the development of useful skills in most of the 24 disparate areas of actual practice (e.g., administrative, bankruptcy, corporate, criminal, family, taxation, et al.). And schools often pay scant attention to legislation, administrative proceedings, or the distinct areas of law that will be relevant to a student’s future practice. Fourth, state bars rely on supply-constricting bar examinations of questionable connection to competence assurance. In the largest state of California, the bar examination fails about 2/3 of its examinees. This system has fostered an opportunistic cottage industry of increasingly expensive preparatory courses that further raise the cost of becoming an attorney—even after 7 years of higher education. Meanwhile, the bars regulating attorneys in the respective states: a) Do not treat negligent acts as a normal basis for discipline (outside of extreme incapacity); b) Do not require malpractice insurance—effectively denying consumer remedies for negligence; c) Do not allow clients injured by malpractice to recover from “client security funds”; d) Do not require post-licensure “legal education” in the area of an attorney’s practice; e) Do not test attorneys in the area of practice relied upon by consumers—ever; and f) Respond to cost-effective, technology-centric solutions to legal problems not by regulation to assure consumer benefit, but by attempts to categorically foreclose them in favor of total reliance on often unavailable/expensive counsel. No area of state regulation has more openly violated federal antitrust law than has the legal profession. The United States Supreme Court held in 2015 that any state body controlled by “active market participants” in a profession regulated is not a sovereign entity for antitrust purposes without “active state supervision.” Yet four years later, attorneys continue to regulate themselves without such supervision, overlooking the threat of criminal felony and civil treble damage liability.

The Effects of Regulations on Private School Choice Program Participation: Experimental Evidence from Florida

ObjectiveThis is the first experimental evaluation of the effects of various regulations on the willingness of private school leaders to participate in a hypothetical school voucher program.MethodsWe use surveys to randomly assign different regulations to 2,958 private school leaders in Florida and ask them whether they would participate in a new private school choice program during the following school year.ResultsWe received responses from 327 private school leaders. Relative to no additional regulations, our most conservative models find that open‐enrollment mandates reduce the likelihood that private schools are certain to participate by 17 percentage points or 70 percent. State standardized testing requirements reduce the likelihood that private schools are certain to participate by 12 percentage points or 46 percent. We find no evidence to suggest that the prohibition of copayment affects participation overall. We find limited evidence to suggest that regulations are more likely to deter higher‐quality schools.as measured by tuition levels and enrollment trends.ConclusionThese results suggest that various regulations of private school choice programs come with costs and perhaps unintended consequences.

등록금 수준과 저소득층 학생 비중: 국가장학금 자료를 이용한 분석

논문은 고등교육기관 진학의 직접적 비용인 등록금 수준과 각 교육기관의 저소득층 비중의 상관관계를 검토한다. 이는 등록금 부담이 학생의 고등교육 선택에 미치는 영향을 판단하는 간접적인 정황증거의 하나이다. 만약 등록금이 고등교육기관 선택에 영향을 준다면 저소득층의 학생일수록 등록금 부담이 낮은 기관을 선택해 교육기관별 등록금과 저소득층 학생의 비중 사이에 음의 상관관계가 발견될 가능성이 커진다. 상관관계 검토를 위해 본 논문은 정보공개 청구를 통하여 한국장학재단의 장학금 신청 자료를 획득하였으며 이를 이용해 각 기관별 저소득층 학생 비중을 구하고 이를 대학 알리미 정보에 따른 각 기관 등록금 수준과 비교하였다. 분석의 결과 등록금이 높은 학교일수록 저소득층 학생의 비중이 낮아지는 상관관계를 확인할 수 있다. 입학에 필요한 수능 성적을 통제한 후에도 이런 상관관계가 유지되어 경제적 계층에 따른 교육 성취의 격차를 고려하더라도 등록금 수준이 계층에 따른 교육기관 선택에 영향을 미칠 가능성이 있음을 보여준다. 반면 동일 기관의 시점 간 등록금 변이를 통해 보았을 때에는 등록금의 변화와 저소득층 학생 비중 사이에는 의미 있는 상관관계가 존재하지 않아서 앞서의 음의 상관관계가 관측되지 않은 대학 특성에 의한 것이라는 가능성을 배제하기는 어렵다. 다만, 분석이 고려하는 기간이 3년으로 짧아 등록금의 변화가 크지 않다는 것이 시점간 변이를 이용한 분석의 한계이다.

An Exploratory Study Of The Determinants Of Tuition For Online MBA Programs

The number of online MBA programs has increased in recent years while the demand is stabilizing. In light of this trend, the pricing of online MBA programs is an important issue for university administrators and policy makers, who are concerned about program competitiveness and public access to higher education. This study examines the drivers of tuition levels for online MBA programs. Utilizing data from 149 programs in the United States, the influence of various variables on tuition levels is empirically established. The findings indicate that residency and GMAT requirements, as well as enrollment size and student-to-faculty ratio, are important determinants of tuition for online MBA programs. The empirical framework presented in this paper allows university administrators to establish if the tuitions charged for their programs are consistent with market norms, and thereby determine the potential need for adjustment in tuition levels.

Online course enrolment and tuition: empirical evidence from public colleges in Georgia, USA

In the USA, higher education has witnessed substantial increases in tuition levels and online course offerings. In an effort to estimate the demand for online courses, this study collected institutional-level enrolment data during four academic years (2010-2011 through 2013-2014) from 22 colleges within the University System of Georgia (USG). The results indicate that: 1) the demand for online courses is price-elastic (a 10% increase in online tuition rates reduces online credit hours by 15-18% when the effect of traditional course tuition rate is not controlled, and by 30-36% when this effect is controlled); 2) online credit hours increase 1.0 to 1.3 times more than overall student enrolment; 3) online courses and traditional courses are shown to be substitutes, rather than complements.

The Political Economy of Higher Education Finance: How Information and Design Affect Public Preferences for Tuition

Public preferences for charging tuition are important for determining higher education finance. To test whether public support for tuition depends on information and design, we devise several survey experiments in representative samples of the German electorate (N>19,500). The electorate is divided, with a slight plurality opposing tuition. Providing information on the university earnings premium raises support for tuition by 7 percentage points, turning the plurality in favor. The opposition-reducing effect persists two weeks after treatment. Information on fiscal costs and unequal access does not affect public preferences. Designing tuition as deferred income-contingent payments raises support by 16 percentage points, creating a strong majority favoring tuition. The same effect emerges when framed as loan payments. Support decreases with higher tuition levels and increases when targeted at non-EU students.