Higher education finances lie at the crossroads in many Western countries. On the one hand, the surging demand of the past three or four decades, driven by a belief in higher education as a principal engine of social and economic advancement, has led to dramatic growth of the higher education systems in these countries. On the other hand, this growth in demand was accompanied by rapidly increasing per-student cost pressures at a time when governments seemed increasingly unable to keep pace with these cost pressures through public revenues. Hence, worldwide, the most common approach to the need for increasing revenue was to use some form or forms of cost sharing, or the shift of some of the higher educational per-student costs from governments and taxpayers to parents and students. This raises several important challenges to higher education systems. First, there is the political and social controversy associated with most forms of cost-sharing, particularly with tuition fees. Secondly, there are important issues in terms of the broad context of social policy, such as the role of families and students and the relationship that the state establishes with each of them. Third, there is the comparison of alternative instruments of cost-sharing and the direct and indirect effects of each of them, notably in terms of educational equality. Overall, underlying cost-sharing debates are fundamental questions about social choice, individual opportunities, and the role of government in society.

The twenty-first century has the potential to be the era of universal higher education access: the post-massification century. The growth of knowledge-based service industries and an increased need for technological and social innovations require more education, training, and re-training at the post-secondary level. This edited collection addresses the crucial issues emerging from this ongoing expansion of higher education, focusing on how national systems of higher education can respond to demands for further expansion when traditional routes to higher education have been largely exhausted. Does it make a difference how secondary education systems are organised? Can we encourage under-represented groups to participate in higher education, offering them new ways of experiencing higher education without sacrificing quality? What role will new suppliers of higher education, such as private providers, and modes of delivery, such as MOOCs, play? Are there innovative ways to manage the finances of universal access, including tuition fees and student loans? Will all social groups benefit equally from expansion, and find the institution and programme that fits their needs? Expansion will require different modes of delivery, new system models, revised qualification structures, changes to the role played by government, and a revision of the public-private finance mix. While this may lead to tensions in terms of the quality, efficiency, or equality of opportunity in the higher education system, there are also new opportunities for students and higher education institutions. With experienced researchers offering insights, national strategies and policy examples from around the world, Access and Expansion Post-Massification will give researchers and policymakers the tools they need to expand higher education into the era of the knowledge society.

Higher education finances lie at the crossroads in many Western countries. On the one hand, the surging demand of the past three or four decades, driven by a belief in higher education as a principal engine of social and economic advancement, has led to dramatic growth of the higher education systems in these countries. On the other hand, this growth in demand was accompanied by rapidly increasing per-student cost pressures at a time when governments seemed increasingly unable to keep pace with these cost pressures through public revenues. Hence, worldwide, the most common approach to the need for increasing revenue was to use some form or forms of cost sharing, or the shift of some of the higher educational per-student costs from governments and taxpayers to parents and students. This raises several important challenges to higher education systems. First, there is the political and social controversy associated with most forms of cost-sharing, particularly with tuition fees. Secondly, there are important issues in terms of the broad context of social policy, such as the role of families and students and the relationship that the state establishes with each of them. Third, there is the comparison of alternative instruments of cost-sharing and the direct and indirect effects of each of them, notably in terms of educational equality. Overall, underlying cost-sharing debates are fundamental questions about social choice, individual opportunities, and the role of government in society.

The twenty-first century has the potential to be the era of universal higher education access: the post-massification century. The growth of knowledge-based service industries and an increased need for technological and social innovations require more education, training, and re-training at the post-secondary level. This edited collection addresses the crucial issues emerging from this ongoing expansion of higher education, focusing on how national systems of higher education can respond to demands for further expansion when traditional routes to higher education have been largely exhausted. Does it make a difference how secondary education systems are organised? Can we encourage under-represented groups to participate in higher education, offering them new ways of experiencing higher education without sacrificing quality? What role will new suppliers of higher education, such as private providers, and modes of delivery, such as MOOCs, play? Are there innovative ways to manage the finances of universal access, including tuition fees and student loans? Will all social groups benefit equally from expansion, and find the institution and programme that fits their needs? Expansion will require different modes of delivery, new system models, revised qualification structures, changes to the role played by government, and a revision of the public-private finance mix. While this may lead to tensions in terms of the quality, efficiency, or equality of opportunity in the higher education system, there are also new opportunities for students and higher education institutions. With experienced researchers offering insights, national strategies and policy examples from around the world, Access and Expansion Post-Massification will give researchers and policymakers the tools they need to expand higher education into the era of the knowledge society.