Led by an Invisible Hand: The Unintended Consequences of Tuition Deregulation for Adult Learners

• In Event: 18.030 - Examining Public Policy in the Lone Star State: Culture, Practice, and Policies

Abstract

According to the US Department of Education, adult learners make up 45% of all part-time enrollment in community colleges, compared to only 27% of full-time students. As the enrollment of adult learners in post-secondary education increases across the US, accountability efforts among higher education institutions has prioritized full-time enrollment as a means to increase degree completion. Utilizing a quasi-experimental research design and regression analysis, this paper isolates the impact of tuition deregulation on adult learners at community colleges. Net of other factors, regression results indicate that tuition deregulation significantly and dramatically reduced the share of adult learners who enrolled full-time, and that this effect persisted for at least five years after the implementation of tuition deregulation in 2003.

Authors

• Sean Ryan, University of North Texas

• demesia razo, Tarrant County College

• Barrett Taylor, University of North Texas