The impact of tuition fees on progression into higher education
Even the lowest level increase in tuition fees (+1631,775 to 1635,000 p.a.) would reduce the proportion of young people likely to go into higher education, according to Ipsos research for the Sutton Trust.
Young people’s likelihood of going into higher education has increased by seven percentage points since 2008, with four in five 11-16 year olds now saying they’re likely to do this. This is the finding of tracking research with young people, conducted by the Ipsos Social Research Institute on behalf of the Sutton Trust and published today.
However, the research also shows that even the lowest level increase in tuition fees (+£1,775 p.a. from the current level of £3,225 p.a. ) would greatly reduce the numbers who think they’ll progress into higher education. Two-thirds (68%) of young people say they’re likely (very + fairly) to go into higher education if the tuition fee goes up to £5,000 a year (compared with 80% likely prior to any discussion of tuition fees). Likelihood of continuing into higher education drops to under half (45%) if the fees increase to £7,000 a year, and to just a quarter (26%) if the amount charged is £10,000 per annum.
There are also there are significant differences depending on the work status of a young person’s household. Seven in ten (71%) of those who live in households with two working adults are likely to go into higher education with a £5,000 annual tuition fee, while those from households with one working adult (63%) or no working adult (55%) are less likely to say they would do this if the fees were increased.
With a proposed annual tuition fee of £7,000, pupils from households with two working adults are again more likely than average to say they’ll probably go into higher education (47%), compared with 41% and 35% of young people from households with one or no working adult respectively. When fees hit £10,000 p.a. the work status of the household becomes (largely) negligible. However, young people in households with two working parents remain more likely than those in households without a working parent to say they’re likely to go into HE with this level of fee charged.
Technical details
The survey was carried out between 11 January and 23 April 2010, on the Ipsos Young People Omnibus. Fully completed questionnaires were received from a representative sample of 2,700 state school pupils age 11-16 in middle and secondary schools across England and Wales.
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