Abstract
In South Africa, the growing trend to shift the cost burden of university expenses from the state to students has contributed to the 2015 student protests. Access to higher education and the funding thereof remains a sensitive issue. Universities are under a lot of pressure to redress the policies and funding models to improve accessibility as a result of the neglect from South Africa’s apartheid past. Little is known about how effective the current funding model has been in achieving the transformation goals set for higher education. It is currently unknown how different university characteristics impact the students’ share of total tuition costs. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how the financial, enrolment and demographic characteristics at different universities impact the percentage tuition share paid by students studying at these such universities. The study uses data collected from a sample of 18 South African public universities from 2011 to 2015. Descriptive statistics and panel regression analysis were used to analyse the effect that these characteristics have on the universities reliance on tuition fees. The results from the descriptive statistics and analysis raise concerns regarding the direction of cost-sharing in South Africa and the impact it has on the accessibility for the previously disadvantaged students. Previously disadvantaged students who access higher education are doing so under difficult financial circumstances. The analysis indicates where tuition share as an absolute value is the highest, is represented in the elite universities...
M.Com. (Finance)