Increasing the price of a university degree does not significantly affect enrolment if income contingent loans are available: evidence from HECS in Australia

TL;DR

This study shows that in Australia, significant increases in university course prices do not reduce student enrolment when income-contingent loans are available, highlighting the importance of financial aid in higher education access.

Contribution

The paper provides empirical evidence that income-contingent loans mitigate the impact of price increases on university enrolment.

Findings

Large price increases did not significantly affect enrolment growth.

Income-contingent loans help maintain access despite higher costs.

Evidence from Australian higher education data.

Abstract

I provide evidence that, when income-contingent loans are available, student enrolment in university courses is not significantly affected by large increases in the price of those courses. I use publicly available domestic enrolment data from Australia. I study whether large increases in the price of higher education for selected disciplines in Australia in 2009 and in 2012 was associated with changes in their enrolment growth. I find that large increases in the price of a course did not lead to significant changes in their enrolment growth for that course.