Tuition fees

1

• Tuition fees
• Aleksi Henttonen

2
The presentation

• The reasons and the discussion
• The form of fees
• Where we are now

3
Reasons and discussion

• Costs
• Efficiency
• Equality/equity
• Incentives and responsibility
• Autonomy

4
Costs

• Tertiary education is expensive per student
• The lower costs of primary and secondary
  education make it a more attractive way to
  influence larger population groups
• The Lisbon objectives and rising number of
  students require additional funds
• Demographic change places a burden on the public
  sector

5
Efficiency

• The benefits of market mechanism
• Students choose lucrative professions
• Students as customers can demand more of the
  universities

6
Equity/Equality

• Education is received by the well-off
• Individual rate of return for education
  investment is significantly higher than the
  social rate of return
• Public spending increases the private rate of
  return in relation to the social rate of return
• Those who benefit should bear the costs

7
Incentives and responsibility

• The supposition is that students study harder and
  graduate faster if they pay for their education
• If education is free, it seen as of lesser value
• The problems of global labour markets

8
Autonomy

• It is seen that strong position of the state as a
  funder of education is undermining the
  traditional autonomy of universities
• Were the funding base of universities more
  diverse the universities could work according to
  their own ideals instead of following state
  directives

9
The varieties

• Varieties
• Upfront fees
• Loans
• Graduate tax

10
Variables

• Variables
• Relation to costs
• Relation to income
• Relation to duration of studies
• Time and mode of payment

11
Relation to costs

• The proportion of actual costs
• Bearing full costs
• Bearing partial costs
• What costs should be covered?
• Teaching / Teaching and reserch
• Differences between disciplines and universities

12
Relation to group

• Same fees for all
• Lower/subsidised fees for low income groups
• Home / foreign students
• Full-time / part-time students
• HE / Open HE

13
Relation to duration of studies

• Equal fee for all years of study
• On the basis of costs the fee rises as the
  studies progress
• To hasten graduation the fee rises as the studies
  progress

14
Time and mode of payment

• Time
• Upfront
• After graduation
• Mode
• Payment according to costs
• Payment according to income
• Paying the loan
• Paying tax

15
Where are we now?

• Fees are rising in countries using full fees (US,
  Canada)
• Partial fees introduced or raised in many
  European countries (UK, Germany, Austria etc.)
• Nordic countries coming under influence

16
Nordic countries

• Tuition fee for non-EEA students in Denmark
• Swedish social democrats are in favour of tuition
  fees for foreign students
• Recurring discussions in Finland

17
Foreign students

• Education as a right
• Investment in the future of society
• Equal opportunities
• Hinder to internationalisation