Free higher education improves social mobility

The argument

The essence of this argument is simple; if you do not have to pay for higher education, low income is no longer a barrier to accessing it. Where a fee stands between a qualified student and a place, the question of who attends university is settled partly by what a family can afford rather than entirely by what the student can do, and removing the fee removes that filter. By reducing the costs you make education accessible to everyone, not just the wealthiest in society. In this way, the natural benefits of the biggest earners in society are mitigated, because their ability to pay for education is no longer relevant. This is what connects the policy to social mobility rather than merely to fairness. A degree is a route into occupations that are otherwise difficult to enter, so whatever rations access to the degree also rations access to those occupations; if the rationing is done by price, the children of high earners inherit their parents' position through the education system, and the system reproduces the distribution of income it inherited rather than disturbing it. Furthermore, free higher education also reduces the disparity between students whilst at university, because getting through the door is only part of the problem. Currently, many students struggle to balance part-time work alongside their studies. The result is that their wealthier peers have more free time or may attain higher grades as they have longer to work on assignments — an advantage that compounds, since the classification a student graduates with affects what they are able to do next. Two students of equal ability can therefore finish with unequal results for reasons that have nothing to do with ability. If university was free, then this inequality would no longer exist. Because free higher education improves social mobility both in who is able to enrol and in how they fare once enrolled, the UK should make higher education free for students.

Context

A main argument for keeping higher education free is that it enables everyone to participate. In 1962, a new policy was implemented in the UK whereby higher education would be paid for by the state, and no longer be reserved for the upper classes (and the lucky few who earned a scholarship). The decision was seen to be a continuation of free secondary education, and aimed to make 18+ education more widely available.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Few can deny that this argument is in any way flawed, however, many have noted that it is too idealistic and is more of a theoretical argument than a practical one.

Rejecting the premises

The premise is not rejected, but regarded as an abstract ideal rather than a sensible, functioning policy.