Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

The financial burden of attending university in Georgia: Implications for rural students

  • Open File
  • Published:
PROSPECTS Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

By evaluating the impact of policies to financially support university students in Georgia, this article demonstrates the systematic spatial disparities that exist in a context of formally equal competition. The author uses a mixed-methods design, combining quantitative evidence on the entire population of Georgian university applicants in 2005–2009 with data obtained through in-depth interviews with rural families and with policy-makers, to understand the costs associated with attending universities, based on their prestige and location, as well as inequalities stemming from existing policies on the allocation of public funding. She suggests that the distribution of public funding is apparently fair, as urban and rural students incur the same average out-of-pocket tuition costs. Behind the façade of the fair outcome, however, lie serious spatial inequalities based on the complex interplay between the residential origin of higher education applicants, tuition costs, public funding allocations, university locations, and prestige. The analysis shows that urban applicants apply, and gain admission, to more prestigious universities which charge higher tuition than the universities where rural applicants enrol; urban students also manage to obtain higher proportions of the public tuition grant than their rural peers. Thus, rural and urban students purchase higher education of different quality for the same out-of-pocket costs, with urban students being more privileged and rural students relatively less so. Exacerbating this injustice is the fact that rural residents in Georgia earn half of the average urban income.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • ADB [Asian Development Bank] (2007). Country economic report: Georgia. Manila: ADB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alon, S. (2011). The diversity dividends of a need-blind and color-blind affirmative action policy. Social Science Research, 40, 1494–1505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ARC [Applied Research Company] (2011). Empirical study of the market for school textbooks and National Curriculum and Assessment Centre’s educational resources. Tbilisi: ARC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Avery, C., & Hoxby, C. (2003). Do and should financial aid packages affect students’ college choices? Working Paper No. 9482. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. http://www.nber.org/papers/w9482.

  • Ayalon, H., Grodsky, E., Gamoran, A., & Yogev, A. (2008). Diversification and inequality in higher education: A comparison of Israel and the United States. Sociology of Education, 81(3), 211–241. doi:10.1177/003804070808100301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayalon, H., & Shavit, Y. (2004). Educational reforms and inequalities in Israel: The MMI Hypothesis revisited. Sociology of Education, 77(2), 103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berryman, S. (2000). Hidden challenges to education systems in transition economies. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://lnweb90.worldbank.org/eca/eca.nsf/Attachments/Hidden+Challenges+to+Education/$File/ECA.layout.pdf.

  • Black, D., & Smith, J. (2004). How robust is the evidence on the effects of college quality? Evidence from matching. Journal of Econometrics, 121(1–2), 99–124. doi:16/j.jeconom.2003.10.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bound, J., & Turner, S. (2007). Cohort crowding: How resources affect collegiate attainment. Journal of Public Economics, 91(5–6), 877–899.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brand, J., & Halaby, C. (2006). Regression and matching estimates of the effects of elite college attendance on educational and career achievement. Social Science Research, 35(3), 749–770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brint, S., & Karabel, J. (1989). The diverted dream: Community colleges and the promise of educational opportunity in America, 1900–1985. New York: Oxford University Press. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/detail?accno=ED309827.

  • Calero, J. (1998). Quasi-market reforms and equity in the financing of higher education. European Journal of Education, 33(1), 11–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callender, C., & Jackson, J. (2005). Does the fear of debt deter students from higher education? Journal of Social Policy, 34(04), 509–540. doi:10.1017/S004727940500913X.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carnevale, A., & Rose, S. (2003). Socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and selective college admissions. New York: Century Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chankseliani, M. (2009). Procrustean decisions in higher education admissions: The case of Georgia. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag. http://www.bod.de/index.php?id=1132&objk_id=245601.

  • Chankseliani, M. (2013a). Higher education access in Post-Soviet Georgia: Overcoming a legacy of corruption. In H. D. Meyer, E. P. St. John, M. Chankseliani, & L. Uribe (Eds.), Fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective: Reconciling excellence, efficiency, and justice (pp. 171–187). Rotterdam: SENSE.

  • Chankseliani, M. (2013b). Rural disadvantage in Georgian higher education admissions: A mixed-methods study. Comparative Education Review. http://www.jstor.org/stable/compeducrevi.ahead-of-print.

  • Chevalier, A., & Conlon, G. (2003). Does it pay to attend a prestigious university? London: Centre for the Economics of Education, London School of Economics and Political Science. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/19477/1/Does_it_pay_to_attend_a_prestigious_university.pdf.

  • Colclough, C. (1991). Who should learn to pay? An assessment of neo-liberal approaches to education policy. In C. Colclough & J. Manor (Eds.), States or markets? Neo-liberalism and the development policy debate (pp. 197–213). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colclough, C. (1997). Education, health, and the market: An introduction. In C. Colclough (Ed.), Marketizing education and health in developing countries: Miracle or mirage? (pp. 3–36). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Waal, T. (2011). Georgia’s choices: Charting a future in uncertain times. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment. http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=44553.

  • Dynarski, S., & Scott-Clayton, J. (2006). The cost of complexity in federal student aid: Lessons from optimal tax theory and behavioral economics. National Tax Journal, 59(2), 319–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forseth, A., & Furlong, A. (2000). Socioeconomic disadvantage and access to higher education. York, England: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/socioeconomic-disadvantage-and-access-higher-education.

  • Foster, P. (1977). Education and social differentiation in less developed countries. Comparative Education Review, 21(2/3), 211–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geostat [National Statistics Office] (2007). Data on subsistence minimum. Tbilisi: Geostat. http://geostat.ge/index.php?action=page&p_id=179&lang=eng.

  • GeoStat [National Statistics Office] (2009). Statistical yearbook of Georgia 2009. Tbilisi: Geostat. www.geostat.ge.

  • Godfrey, M. (2007). Georgia: Education policy note. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://www.educationfasttrack.org/epdf/uploads/96.

  • Government of Georgia (2007). Ordinance 246. Tbilisi: Government of Georgia. http://www.government.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=GEO&sec_id=95&info_id=2534.

  • Griffith, A., & Rothstein, D. (2009). Can’t get there from here: The decision to apply to a selective college. Economics of Education Review, 28(5), 620–628. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775709000259.

  • Hannum, E., & Wang, M. (2006). Geography and educational inequality in China. China Economic Review, 17, 253–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hauptman, A., Barkhudaryan, L., & Balasanyan, S. (2011). Reforming higher education financing in Armenia. International Higher Education, 65, 24–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry, C., Sharma, M., Lapenu, C., & Zeller, M. (2003). Microfinance poverty assessment tool. Washington DC: World Bank Publications.

  • Ivaschenko, O., & Posarac, A. (2008). Georgia poverty assessment. Report no. 44400-GE. Washington, DC: World Bank Human Development Sector Unit, South Caucasus Country Unit, Europe and Central Asia Region.

  • Jacob, J. W. (2007). Social justice in Chinese higher education: Regional issues of equity and access. International Review of Education, 52(1), 149–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanbur, R., & Venables, A. (2005). Spatial inequality and development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kane, T. (2003). A quasi-experimental estimate of the impact of financial aid on college-going. NBER Working Paper No. 9703. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau for Economic Research. http://www.nber.org/papers/w9703.

  • Konecny, T., & Mateju, P. (2009). Student financing, opportunity growth, and equity in access to higher education. Social Science Electronic Publishing. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1447330.

  • Koucky, J., Bartusek, A., & Kovarovic, J. (2007). Inequality and access to tertiary education: European countries 1950–2005. Adelaide: National Centre for Vocational Education Research. http://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv50765.

  • Labaree, D. (1997). Public goods, private goods: The American struggle over educational goals. American Educational Research Journal, 34(1), 39–81. doi:10.3102/00028312034001039.

    Google Scholar 

  • Law, J., Assenti, S., Barton, G., McKissock, K., Baker, D., Barrow, S., & Cookson, D. (2004). Community legal service: Assessing need for legal advice in Scotland. Edinburgh: The Scottish Executive Social Research. http://scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/25954/0025032.pdf.

  • Lee, W. O. (2002). Equity and access to education: Themes, tensions, and policies. Manila: Asian Development Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levin, H. (1987). Education as a public and private good. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 6(4), 628–641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, C., Zhang, L., Luo, R., Wang, X., Rozelle, S., Sharbono, B., et al. (2011). Early commitment on financial aid and college decision making of poor students: Evidence from a randomized evaluation in rural China. Economics of Education Review, 30(4), 627–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lobao, L., Hooks, G., & Tickamyer, A. (Eds.) (2007). The sociology of spatial inequality. Albany: SUNY Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, B. (2004). How have college decisions changed over time? An application of the conditional logistic choice model. Journal of Econometrics, 121(1–2), 271–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCowan, T. (2007). Expansion without equity: An analysis of current policy on access to higher education in Brazil. Higher Education, 53(5), 579–598. doi:10.1007/s10734-005-0097-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McPherson, M., & Schapiro, M. (1998). The student aid game: Meeting need and rewarding talent in American higher education. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, H.-D., St. John, E. P., Chankseliani, M., & Uribe, L. (2013). The crisis of higher education access: A crisis of justice. In H.-D. Meyer, E. P. St. John, M. Chankseliani, & L. Uribe (Eds.), Fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective: Reconciling excellence, efficiency, and justice (pp. 1–9). Rotterdam: SENSE.

  • MoES [Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia] (2008). Evaluation of the student loan programme, Gates of Knowledge. Tbilisi: MoES.

    Google Scholar 

  • MoES [Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia] (2009a). Social grant statistics for 2005–2009. Tbilisi: MoES.

    Google Scholar 

  • MoES [Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia] (2009b). EMIS data on general school pupils. Tbilisi: MoES.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monks, J. (2000). The returns to individual and college characteristics: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Economics of Education Review, 19(3), 279–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morley, L., & Aynsley, S. (2007). Employers, quality and standards in higher education: Shared values and vocabularies or elitism and inequalities? Higher Education Quarterly, 61(3), 229–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, F. (2010). Barriers to widening access to higher education. Edinburgh: SPICe Information Centre, Scottish Parliament. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/SPICeResources/Research%20briefings%20and%20fact%20sheets/SB_10-07.pdf.

  • NAEC [National Examinations Center] (2006a). The Unified National Examinations information booklet. Tbilisi: NAEC.

    Google Scholar 

  • NAEC [National Examinations Center] (2006b). The Unified National Examinations 2006. Tbilisi: NAEC.

    Google Scholar 

  • NAEC [National Examinations Center] (2007a). The Unified National Examinations information booklet. Tbilisi: NAEC.

    Google Scholar 

  • NAEC [National Examinations Center] (2007b). The Unified National Examinations 2007. Tbilisi: NAEC.

    Google Scholar 

  • NAEC [National Examinations Center] (2008). United National Examinations information booklet. Tbilisi: NAEC.

    Google Scholar 

  • NAEC [National Examinations Center] (2009a). Unified National Examinations database. Tbilisi: NAEC.

    Google Scholar 

  • NAEC [National Examinations Center] (2009b). Unified National Examinations information booklet. Tbilisi: NAEC.

    Google Scholar 

  • NAEC [National Examinations Center] (2011). Unified National Examinations: Main figures for 2005–2011. Tbilisi: NAEC.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2003). Tertiary-type B education (ISCED 5B). Glossary of statistical terms. Paris: OECD.

  • OECD and World Bank (2009). Tertiary education in Chile: Review of national policies for education. Paris and Washington, DC: OECD and World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Palacios, M., & Lleras, M. (2004). Investing in human capital: A capital markets approach to student funding. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parliament of Georgia (2004). Georgian law on higher education. Parliament of Georgia. http://www.mes.gov.ge/content.php?id=193&module=legislation&page=detals&leg_id=64.

  • Perkins, G. (1998). The Georgian education system: Issues for reform management. Background paper for 1998 Georgia Education Sector Strategy Note. Washington DC: World Bank.

  • Psacharopoulos, G. (1988). Education and development: A review. World Bank Research Observer, 3(1), 99–116. doi:10.1093/wbro/3.1.99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranson, K., Sinha, T., Chatterjee, M., Acharya, A., Bhavsar, A., Morris, S., et al. (2006). Making health insurance work for the poor: Learning from the Self-Employed Women’s Association’s (SEWA) community-based health insurance scheme in India. Social Science & Medicine, 62(3), 707–720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivera, L. (2011). Ivies, extracurriculars, and exclusion: Elite employers’ use of educational credentials. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 29, 71–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santiago, P., Tremblay, K., Basri, E., & Arnal E. (2008). Tertiary education for the knowledge society: OECD thematic review of tertiary education, vol. 2. Paris: OECD. http://oecd-conference-teks.iscte.pt/downloads/OECD_vol2.pdf.

  • Shapiro, M., Nakata, S., Chakhaia, L., Zhvania, E., Babunashvili, G., Pruidze, N., et al. (2007). Evaluation of the Ilia Chavchavadze Program in Reforming and Strengthening Georgia’s Schools. Tokyo: Padeco.

    Google Scholar 

  • St. John, E., Chung, C., Musoba, G., Simmons, A., Wooden, O., & Mendez, J. (2004). Expanding college access: The impact of state finance strategies. ERIC document no. ED484236. Indianapolis: Lumina Foundation.

  • Sutton Trust (2008). Knowing where to study? Fees, bursaries and fair access. London: Sutton Trust. http://www.suttontrust.com/research/knowing-where-to-study/.

  • TFRD [Task Force for Regional Development] (2009). Poverty reduction and employment: Diagnostic report. Tbilisi: TFRD. http://www.eui.eu/Personal/Researchers/AlexiGugushvili/N3_%20Diagn_Redaqt_Moxseneba_Eng_14.04.09.pdf.

  • Tilak, J. (2008). Higher education: A public good or a commodity for trade? Prospects, 38(4), 449–466. doi:10.1007/s11125-009-9093-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • TPDC [Teacher Professional Development Center] (2008). Required and expected quantities of general school teachers in Georgia. Tbilisi: TPDC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turley, R. (2009). College proximity: Mapping access to opportunity. Sociology of Education, 82(2), 126–146. doi:10.1177/003804070908200202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNDP (2011). Beyond transition: Towards inclusive societies. ECIS regional human development report. Bratislava: UNDP, Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS. http://www.undp.org.pl/eng/About-us/Library/Regional-Human-Development-Report-Beyond-transition-towards-inclusive-societies.

  • UNESCO (2005). EFA global monitoring report: The quality imperative. Regional Overview. Paris: UNESCO. http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=36028&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html.

  • UNESCO (2009). Global education digest 2009: Comparing education statistics across the world. Montreal: UNESCO Institute of Statistics. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001832/183249e.pdf.

  • UNESCO (2011). Revision of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/international-standard-classification-of-education.aspx.

  • Vinke, C., & Lonergan, S. (2011). Social and environmental risk factors for trachoma: A mixed methods approach in the Kembata Zone of southern Ethiopia. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 32(3), 254–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voicu, B., & Vasile, M. (2010). Rural-urban inequalities and expansion of tertiary education in Romania. Journal of Social Research & Policy, 1(1), 5–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vossensteyn, H. (2009). Challenges in student financing: State financial support to students – A worldwide perspective. Higher Education in Europe, 34(2), 171. doi:10.1080/03797720902867294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warhurst, C., Commander, J., Nickson, D., Symeonides, A., Furlong, A., Findlay, J., Wilson, F., & Hurrell, S. (2009). Higher and further education: Students’ income, expenditure and debt in Scotland 2007–08. Edinburgh: Scottish Government. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/06/24115743/0.

  • Wolanin, T. (2002, summer). Means testing in developing countries. International Higher Education (28). https://htmldbprod.bc.edu/pls/htmldb/f?p=2290:4:435847516037581::NO:RP,4:P0_CONTENT_ID:101008.

  • World Bank (2009). Concept note on equity and access to tertiary education. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (2010). Tertiary enrolment data. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.TER.ENRR.

  • Yang, X. (2010). Access to higher education for rural-poor students in China. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 9(3), 193–209. doi:10.1007/s10671-010-9084-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y. (2006). Urban-rural literacy gaps in sub-Saharan Africa: The roles of socioeconomic status and school quality. Comparative Education Review, 50(4), 581–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, H., & Cowen, D. (2009). Mapping academic achievement and public school choice under the No Child Left Behind legislation. Southeastern Geographer, 49(1), 24–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ziderman, A., & Albrecht, D. (1995). Financing universities in developing countries. Washington, DC: Falmer Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maia Chankseliani.

About this article

Cite this article

Chankseliani, M. The financial burden of attending university in Georgia: Implications for rural students. Prospects 43, 311–328 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-013-9274-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-013-9274-x

Keywords

Navigation