Theme 1:  Why it’s hard to make finances add up

Thursday 23 April, 11.45am – 1.15pm

Free Tuition: Discourse vs. Realities

Panellists:

• Ariane de Gayardon, Assistant Professor, University of Twente
• Miguel Lim, Senior Lecturer in Education and International Development, University of Manchester (On the Philippines)
• Sylvie Lomer, Senior Lecturer in Education, University of Manchester (On the Philippines)
• Thandi Lewin, Associate Professor, University of Johannesburg (On South Africa)
• Hector Rios Jara, Postdoctoral researcher, Research Center for the Study of Economy and Society (ESOC), Universidad Central de Chile (On Chile)

This panel examines recent reforms in Chile (2016), South Africa (2017), and the Philippines (2017), three countries that adopted free-tuition policies in response to inequities and inefficiencies in previous financing regimes. Running counter to the global trend toward cost-sharing, these reforms foreground social justice, inclusivity, and HE as a public good. They represent distinct responses to rising costs and intensifying pressures on HE systems that have spurred governments to experiment with new financial models to balance affordability, equitable access, quality, flexibility, and sustainability. Yet, implementation realities – constrained public finances, persistent inequalities, and institutional pressures – often diverge from aspirational discourse.

The first contribution provides a comparative framing of the free-tuition movement, tracing shared rationales of equity, justice, and political expediency while interrogating how these ideals have translated into financing models and eligibility criteria.

The second contribution examines the Philippines’ 2017 Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which extended free tuition in public institutions. It considers the distributive and procedural fairness conflicts that shaped political support, alongside trade-offs that have emerged in subsequent years.

The third contribution examines South Africa’s 2017 fee-free announcement, a response to student activism (#FeesMustFall) and entrenched inequality. It contrasts discourses of redress and transformation with the mixed results of the policy, exploring targeting, sustainability, institutional finances, and the unintended consequences of well-intentioned reform.

The fourth contribution turns to Chile’s 2016 Gratuidad reform, presented as a rupture with the neoliberal legacy of marketised higher education. It assesses impacts on cost distribution between households and government, conditionalities imposed on universities, and current debates around expansion and sustainability.

Together, the panel situates these cases within global debates, exploring the dissonance between the lofty promises of free-tuition discourse and the complex, costly, and sometimes regressive realities of implementation.

Thursday 23 April, 2.15pm – 3.45pm

When student loans work and when they don’t: Global comparisons of student loan policies

Panellists:

• Ariane de Gayardon, Assistant Professor, University of Twente
• Nick Hillmann, Professor and Director of SSTAR Lab, University of Wisconsin-Madison, US (Debt forgiveness in the US)
• Christopher Grillo, CEO of Irnerius, Inc. & PhD Candidate, Boston College (US Parent Plus Loans)
• Fahrana Gaffar, Leverhulme Trust Fellow, University of Nottingham (British graduates)
• Andreas Fidjeland, Associate Professor, University of Stavanger & Senior Researcher, NIFU, Norway (Norway’s policy change)

Student loan systems have become a central mechanism for financing higher education in many countries. While loans can expand access and reduce public expenditure, they also carry risks, particularly in terms of equity, (family) repayment burdens, and long-term insecurity. This panel explores the conditions under which student loan systems succeed or fall short, drawing on research from the U.S., England, and Norway.

The first presentation examines recent U.S. student debt forgiveness policies, arguing that the very need for forgiveness signals fundamental flaws in the system. It shows how relief can ease financial strain but may also favour higher-income borrowers, highlighting the importance of policy design for fairness and effectiveness.
The second paper examines U.S. Parent PLUS loans, which shift debt from students to parents, disproportionately affecting low-income and minority families. Highlighting parental sacrifice – through frugality, delayed retirement, and prolonged repayment – it underscores the limits of loan-based funding and calls for stronger borrower protections and equitable policy reform.

The third presentation assesses the nuances of the unfolding impacts of elevated debt levels on English graduates from the early £9,000 tuition fee cohorts. It explores how student loans shape individual and collective decision-making around employment, housing, further study, and impacts graduates’ views on social mobility and higher education’s value over time.

The final paper evaluates Norway’s move from need-based to universal student loans with performance-based grant conversion. While aid uptake rose, the reform benefited more advantaged students, reinforcing inequalities. It highlights how policy design can boost access and efficiency but also create trade-offs in fairness and debt burdens.
Together, these case studies reveal the successes and failures of student loan systems in different policy contexts. The panel offers critical insights into how design choices – such as eligibility rules, repayment structures, and performance incentives – shape the effectiveness and fairness of student loan models.

Friday 24 April, 9am – 10.30am

Public and private funding and the future of higher education

Panellists:

• Thandi Lewin, Associate Professor at the Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies, Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg
• Vincent Carpentier, Professor of Higher Education and Society, Department of Education, Practice & Society, UCL Institute of Education
• Moses Oketch, Professor in International Education Policy & Development Department of Education, Practice & Society UCL Institute of Education
• Saumen Chattopadhyay, Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies (ZHCES), School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)

This panel focuses on understanding global trends and political discourses related to the funding of higher education during a time of rapid change and uncertainty, employing both historical and contemporary lenses to consider what the future of higher education might look like in various contexts.

The public funding of higher education is in decline in many parts of the world, linked to the growth of competitive forms of academic capital and an increased commodification of higher education which altogether increasingly question the sustainability and fairness of the contemporary models to fund higher education.

The panel will examine some of the successes and failures of higher education funding models, with a focus on systemic funding policies and their evolution over time. It will also consider the question of the balance between private and public funding, as well as the distinction between institutional and individual funding for higher education, and the political context of funding policy, exploring how this has evolved over time.

There are significant differences across national contexts, with some countries exploring various types ranging from free tuition to strong commodification. Worldwide, the growth of private higher education providers and challenges of student debt has generated debates on the form of cost-sharing needed to sustain higher education systems. But what will this look like, and what does it mean for equity and social justice? Is there a future for the public funding of higher education?

Friday 24 April, 11am – 12.30pm

Unequal graduate outcomes: Reassessing the long-term returns to higher education

Panellists:

• Anan Chen, Postdoctoral Researcher, Peking University, and Honorary Research Fellow, UCL
• Golo Henseke, Associate Professor in Applied Economics, University College London
• Sangwoo Lee, Assistant Professor at the Institute for Employment Research (IER), University of Warwick
• Yuqi Zhang, Ph.D candidate in Educational Economics, University College London

Higher education is widely assumed to be a powerful mechanism for social mobility, skills development and economic reward. Yet cross-national evidence increasingly shows that the long-term returns to higher education are uneven, context-dependent and potentially declining. This panel brings together four papers examining graduate outcomes from complementary angles: earnings mobility, international/transnational education, employability development, multidimensional job quality and social returns, to interrogate a central question: Does higher education still deliver on its promise of equality and quality, and long-term graduate advantage?

Together, by bringing insights from different research and context, this panel will address key conference aims by exploring:

• Under what conditions does higher education expansion promote equitable outcomes?
• Do international and transnational models generate distinct advantages or reproduce inequalities?
• How should we rethink graduate outcomes beyond earnings, incorporating skills, job quality and wellbeing?
• What funding and policy models best support sustainable and just returns to higher education?

This panel will provide new theoretical, empirical and policy insights into the equity, justice and sustainability of graduate outcomes worldwide. It also offers broader insights into how higher education participates in social reproduction and mobility under hybrid institutional orders.

Friday 24 April, 1.30pm – 3pm

Easy to say, hard to deliver: Why are student finance policies so sticky?

Panellists:

• Krzysztof Czarnecki, Researcher, Social Policy Unit, Stockholm University, and Assistant Professor, Department of Labour and Social Policy, Poznan University of Economics
• Chris Millward, Professor of Practice in Education Policy, University of Birmingham
• Zhamilya Mukasheva, LSE Fellow in Public Policy, London School of Economics
• Hector Rios, Postdoctoral Researcher, Economic and Society Research Centre, Universidad Central de Chile
• Sofia Baeza Barcelo, PhD Student, University College London

‘I promised to rebuild the middle class, and to fight for hardworking American families. Today, we are taking another significant step to deliver on that promise by canceling $130 million in debt for 7,400 student borrowers.’ (President of USA Joe Biden, 2023)
‘Ending the State-Guaranteed Student Loan and establishing a new financing system is imperative for those who do not have free education…alleviating the burden of educational debts that seem eternal is a commitment that we are going to approach with conviction and dialogue.’ (President of Chile Gabriel Boric, 2023)
‘Reworking the present system gives scope for a month-on-month tax cut for graduates, putting money back in people’s pockets when they most need it. For young graduates this will give them breathing space at the start of their working lives and as they bring up families.’ (UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, 2023)

The USA, Chile and England are distinctive in relying on greater private than public investment in higher education (OECD, 2025). But as higher education participation increases worldwide (UNESCO, 2025), re-payable loans with different modes of government support and co-ordination are becoming increasingly common.

As exemplified by the quotations above, politicians in countries at the vanguard of liberalising student finance have begun to promise reform. This is intended to encourage access to higher education, relieve financial pressures on working people and unlock spending to support economic growth. It also aims to gain political support among growing graduate populations.

Reforms such as these have, though, proved difficult to deliver in practice. The session will explore insights from policy makers and scholars on why and how this transpired in USA, Chile and England, and how this resonates with patterns in novel data-sets on fees and student support across more than 30 other higher income countries. The data and the specific cases help to understand the characteristics and current challenges of student finance and reforms in different countries, how factors such as public opinion, party politics, and higher education structure influence them, and why some instruments appear to be more salient than others.

The session will be of interest to researchers working on student finance policy and colleagues involved with higher education policy worldwide.

View full conference programme for Days 1 and 2.