The Significance of Tuition Equity in the Policy Learning of Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) Administrators

• In Event: Higher Education Professionals and Undocumented Student Support

Abstract

Objectives & Framework. This paper explores how higher education and student affairs (HESA) administrators learn about policies related to undocumented students in tuition-equity states. Undocumented students rely on HESA administrators for information regarding college success (Muñoz et al., 2023). However, researchers find that HESA administrators provide inaccurate information about federal, state, and local (FSL) policies that affect the higher education of undocumented students (Author et al., 2022). FSL policies that center on undocumented students are often in conflict with each other, further adding to the complex policy landscape HESA administrators face. Thus, HESA administrators are uniquely positioned to resist or facilitate the implementation of policies (Brower et al., 2017), but little is known about how they learn and make sense of them. To build on this research, I draw on perspectives of policy learning. Bennett and Howlett (1992) identify five different types of learning—political, governmental, policy-oriented, lesson-drawing, and social. My research suggests that HESA professionals view policy as a learning process driven by organizational conflicts that they must reconcile.

Methods & Data Sources. To explore how HESA administrators understand these conflicting political landscapes, I employed a case study methodology, drawing on a sample of states whose policy approaches fall into the three categories: exclusionary, inclusionary, and no-state policy (NSP). I conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 HESA administrators across eight states. For this paper, I will primarily focus on participants from inclusionary or five tuition equity states to investigate further how HESA administrators learn about tuition equity and undocumented students.

Results. HESA administrators who work with undocumented students, whether they are aware of it or not, are involved in an extensive policy community because they contribute to the policy-making process (Bennett and Howlett, 1992) as street bureaucrats (Brower et al., 2017). HESA professionals are thus engaged in political learning because they are involved in or affected by government or institutional changes. HESA professionals who are most knowledgeable of tuition equity are involved in policy networks and are in community with government officials, interest group leaders, and policy advocacy groups, who share a belief system and work together to influence policy; are in a position to share information; and are in a position to implement policies. They were engaged in government learning or the growth of knowledge within states because they were involved in moving the state beyond in-state tuition to state financial aid. Many of them are conceptualizing post-graduation plans and informing policies on certifications for undocumented students. Further, they are also involved in policy-oriented learning or dedicated to supporting their campus community in learning and policy change affecting undocumented students. They are also engaged in lesson drawing or learning from other initiatives or universities that have led to the adoption, emulation, or hybridization of policies.

Significance. Viewing HESA administrators' approaches to undocumented students through a policy learning lens provides an important yet understudied perspective on the kinds of policy learners HESA administrators are within a complex landscape. Exploring policy learning enhances equitable support and advocacy for undocumented students.

Author

• Blanca Elizabeth Vega, Montclair State University