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HUBERT ERTL

How much is a degree worth? Students ’ perceptions of the financial implications of transitions into higher education. HUBERT ERTL. Overview. Background financial transition factors transition by numbers The study - questions - design Key findings expectations of earnings and debt

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HUBERT ERTL

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  1. How much is a degree worth? Students’ perceptions of the financial implications of transitions into higher education HUBERT ERTL

  2. Overview • Background • financial transition factors • transition by numbers • The study- questions- design • Key findings • expectations of earnings and debt • decisions affecting transitions 4. Questions raised

  3. Financial issues affecting students’ transition into higher education in England • cap on Home/EU UG fees raised to £9000 • if fees charged >£6000, university must have access agreement agreed by OFFA and participate in National Scholarship Programme - means-tested grant (£3250 when RHI <£25000, reducing to £0 at £42,875) • student loans repayable once salary >£21,000 with real rate of interest charged - p/t UGs eligible for student loans

  4. UG fees and student funding in England

  5. Transition numbers: Undergraduate applicants and acceptances (000s), 1994-2011 Source: UCAS

  6. Figures for 2012 admissionsUCAS data – End of cycle report 2012 • 340,500 acceptances to English universities from UK/EU applicants, that is 51,000 less than in 2011(-13 per cent) • NB: 2012 entry includes 9516 students who deferred, compared to 23,600 for 2011 entry (suggests underlying change of -10 per cent) • drop evenly distributed among students with AAB+ and lower levels of entry qualification

  7. Initial figures for 2013 application cycleUCAS data – 18 March 2013 • 412,907 applications from English applicants, that is 8,416 more than in 2012 (+2.1 per cent) • -9.8% 2012 vs. 2011

  8. The rhetoric of consumerism “The force that is unleashed is consumerism…. I recognise that the very term ‘consumerism’ causes deep anxiety for some. But it is not a threat to the classic relationship between academic teacher and student – it is an opportunity to rebalance academia so that teaching gets its rightful place alongside research.”(D Willetts THE 26.5.11)

  9. The study – context and questions Individual economic benefit is cited by politicians as a rationale for higher private contributions to the cost of higher education: • Assumption:Perceptions of potential applicants about expected costs and outcomes play a significant role in their decision regarding transition into higher education • Question 1: To what extent does the expectation of a ‘graduate premium’ influence the choices of potential applicants? • Question 2: To what extent do differences in the expected cost of studying at different institutions influence applicants’ institutional choices?

  10. The study - design • Work with six secondary schools/colleges (five in Oxfordshire, one in Buckinghamshire) • Accessed mainly through network of PGCE partnership institutions • Questionnaire survey (online or paper) of all students in year 13, taking courses that would make them eligible to apply for higher education : 723 usable responses • Follow-up focus group interviews at five participating institutions: 43 respondents, all of whom had applied to higher education

  11. Key findings • Likelihood of applying to higher education according to selected student characteristics

  12. Key findings: expected earnings

  13. Key findings • Expected debt by gender

  14. Key findings • Views on graduate premium • Note – attitude to graduate premium has an important influence on propensity to apply to HE

  15. Key findings: decision to apply to HE

  16. Key findings: choosing where to apply • 73.6% of respondents applied to at least one pre-1992 university, of whom 75.3% applied to at least one Russell Group university. • Questionnaire: cost concerns have more of an impact on • men • applicants to to post-1992 universities • those concerned about the debt burden • Those who expect to earn above the repayment threshold (£21,000) • Focus groups: differences in fee levels between universities are perceived as small – not central to institutional choice

  17. Key findings: reasons not to apply to HE • Top ranked items (out of 13 items provided): • I want to earn money • I don't want to get into debt • I want to find a job straight away • I want to do an apprenticeship • Factor analysis: • financial motives related to prospect of lost earnings  stronger for those who are the first in their family to go onto university and for those that don’t believe in graduate premium • ability to find employment and set off on a career path  stronger for those that don’t believe in graduate premium • Focus groups: Perceived lack of alternatives to HE plays an important role

  18. Higher education entry as a transition process? • at what point(s) do potential applicants consider cost when making decisions about HE? • do potential applicants have the information they need to compare the costs of different HE options? • impact of KIS on decision-making in subsequent years? • how is information used in decision making process? • are potential applicants making choices that are rational for them and, if so, how does/should this affect policy?

  19. Thank you for your interest! hubert.ertl@education.ox.ac.uk

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