Higher Education in the USA, Student fees, financial aid and access

In 2006 the English higher education system will be facing the introduction of variable -
albeit capped - tuition fees, alongside a new system of government financial support for
students and a market in institutional bursaries and scholarships. Concerns about the
potential impact on different groups of students, and on efforts to widen participation in
HE have led to the requirement for institutions to make Access agreements and to commit
to certain levels of bursary and outreach support. This report of a study trip conducted in
June 2005 looks at the US experience of fees, student support, student debt and the
implications for access and admissions. It sets out the federal context then reports from
the Illinois Student Financial Aid Commission, and two Illinois universities - one private
(De Paul University in Chicago) and one public (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign).
The US has always had a fee culture and a market driven economy in higher education,
that includes private universities. The report describes current trends in rising fees, the
shift from grants to loans and long-term student debt in the US, and the implications for
access and admissions policies - including sophisticated modelling of student academic
profile and financial circumstances of the kind that English institutions may have to
consider adopting. The report draws out lessons for England and identifies some key
issues facing those working to widen access in both the US and England -including the
different expectations of equitable treatment in the two countries, the implications of
long-term student debt accrued at increasingly high levels and the need to consider what
policy and finance levers are appropriate in directing institutional policy towards access
and widening participation.