The Quest for Equity in Chile’s Higher Education: Decades of Continued Efforts

In Chile during the last forty years, there have been important initiatives aimed at increasing equity in higher education, including the private provision of tertiary education starting in 1980, the growing support provided by the state to low-income students through financial aid, the increasing importance of institutional financial aid, a university admissions system that has made efforts to reduce the important weight standardized test scores have traditionally had in admissions decisions and institutional-level programs implemented to broadened the admission of low income students to selective institutions. This book seeks to describe the concurrent efforts undertaken both at the national and at the institutional level to increase equity in access to higher education and educational outcomes in Chile during the last four decades. Taking stock of the accomplishments of Chile´s higher education system is especially important at a time when social demands and political decisions seem to deeply question the road traveled.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Prologue List of Relevant Terms Section I. Framing the Issue Chapter 1: Introduction, Maria Veronica Santelices, Catherine Horn, and Ximena Catalán Chapter 2: Chile’s Higher Education System: Structure and Policies Behind Increased Enrollment, María Veronica Santelices, Ximena Catalán and Catherine Horn Chapter 3: United States Postsecondary Education as a Point of Comparison, Catherine Horn, Maria Veronica Santelices, and Ximena Catalán Section II. Higher Education Decision-Making Process Chapter 4: The Role of Information in Students’ Transition to Higher Education, Maria Veronica Santelices, Ximena Catalán, Magdalena Zarhi, and Catherine Horn Chapter 5: Tuition Fees and Student Financial Aid and Higher Education Enrollment: the Case of Chile, Carlos Williamson, Macarena Kutscher, Cristina Riquelme and Maria Veronica Santelices Section III. University Admissions Chapter 6: University Admission Criteria in Chile, Maria Veronica Santelices, Ximena Catalán and Catherine Horn Chapter 7: High School Ranking Policy: Expected and Observed Consequences, Maria Veronica Santelices, Ximena Catalán, Catherine Horn and Alejandra Venegas Chapter 8: Equity Admissions Initiatives in Chile: Experiences from Three Selective Universities, Maria Veronica Santelices, Catherine Horn, and Ximena Catalán Section IV. Student Financial Aid and Educational Outcomes Chapter 9: Effects of Financial Aid Initiatives at the National level, Maria Veronica Santelices, Catherine Horn, Ximena Catalán and Diana Kruger Chapter 10: Effects of Financial Aid at the Institutional level, Catherine Horn, Macarena Alarcón, Maria Veronica Santelices and Ximena Catalán Section V. Conclusions and Lessons Learned Chapter 11: Conclusions and Lessons Learned, Maria Veronica Santelices, Catherine Horn, and Ximena Catalán About the contributors

About the Author :
Maria Veronica Santelices is associate professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Catherine Horn is professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and Executive Director of the Institute for Educational Policy Research and Evaluation at the University of Houston. Ximena Catalán is a PhD student at the Department of Education at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Review :
This is one of the one of the most thorough and useful books written about the many recent attempts, over the last two decades, to improve fair access to higher education in Chile. Based on substantial research and convincingly argued it will have an impact not only on future research but on current discussions and future policy debates grappling with this increasingly important issue. A lively and insightful study of the equity challenges of Chilean higher education. Despite rapid recent expansion, Chilean universities still reflect broader social inequities. Covering government and institutional policy reforms, the authors highlight the ongoing need both to widen access and improve student outcomes. Rich in evidence and comparative international analysis, the book shows the importance of financial incentives, high school reform, and new admissions policies to raising university equity. The book will appeal to scholars, students, and policy makers. For those interested in how changes in higher education financial aid and admissions policies can broadly impact equity, access and persistence, the authors provide an all-embracing, sound theoretical and methodological reporting on the culmination of the transformative higher educational efforts engaged by the Chilean government. The book is a must-read for those interested in acquiring knowledgeable, distinct insight into the realizations and encounters along the journey toward access and change for the better of student academic outcomes in Chile.