Cost-sharing and income dependent loans

This chapter examines the rise of higher education funding policies informed by the idea of cost-sharing, focusing on tuition fees and student loans. These policies transfer more of the costs of higher education from the state and taxpayers to students and their families, representing a shift from collective to individualized responsibility for higher education funding. The chapter explores the thinking underpinning cost-sharing policies, how, why, and where they have emerged, and how widespread they are across the globe. It discusses the purported advantages and disadvantages of both tuition fees and student loans. It then describes different types of student loans and investigates how income-contingent loans differ from other loans, highlighting their key features or parameters. The chapter concludes with a case study of income-contingent loans in England, exploring some of their consequences especially for government and graduates.