糖心TV

Claire Crawford from the Department of Economics and the Institute of Fiscal Studies will talk about her work on Socio-Economic differences in HE participation and outcomes. Open to staff and PGR students. Please to attend.

Abstract: There are sizeable returns to going to university, which vary by institution, subject and degree class. Yet there remain very large differences in the proportion of young people from different socio-economic backgrounds who go to university. This paper uses linked administrative data that enables us to follow pupils attending schools in England through to HE participation at any UK university to document and explore the socio-economic differences in HE participation overall and at high status institutions. We consider how these gaps have changed over time - through the considerable changes that have been made to the tuition fee and student support regime in recent years - and what factors help to explain these differences. We also consider socio-economic differences in outcomes once at university. While the UK has lower drop-out rates from university than the US, for example, there is still a sizeable proportion of young people who do not complete their degree. This paper explores the extent to which, as well as being less likely to go in the first place, young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to drop out of university, and less likely to do well (i.e. achieve a high degree class) if they stay. This is vital given that returns typically accrue only to those who complete their degree.