Who Deserves Administrative Burden? Why State Policy Makers Support Compliance Costs in Tuition-Free College Policies

• In Event: Research In Progress Roundtable Session 5
  In Invited Roundtable: Education Policy and Politics: Accountability, Compliance, and Principal Turnover (Table 12)

Abstract

This study examines why state policymakers support compliance costs in tuition-free college programs, despite their potential to exclude underserved students. Using administrative burden and deservingness theory, the study analyzes legislative data from four states with varying program burdens to explore how policymakers justify design decisions and portray target populations. Employing a comparative case-study approach, it reveals how compliance costs, framed as promoting fairness and accountability, reflect societal norms about deservingness. Findings will illuminate how administrative burdens disproportionately affect marginalized groups and provide insights into policy motivations and implications for equitable access to higher education.

Author

• Julio J. Mena Bernal, University of Texas at Austin