Gratuity Policy and Access to Higher Education in Chile: Effects in Enrolment and Inclusion to Selective Universities.

Over the past 40 years, policies promoting inclusion and equity have gained global relevance (Ainscow, 2020; UNESCO, 2012). In Chile, the Higher Education system has experienced significant growth, largely driven by the expansion of private institutions. Since 2016, public policies aimed at guaranteeing rights through state intervention have been implemented, primarily focused on promoting the inclusion of historically excluded social groups (Díaz, 2019; Flores et al., 2020; Munizaga et al., 2019). The Gratuity Policy is a key initiative that has provided access to Higher Education for students from the lowest six income deciles. While the policy has had a broad impact, its effects have been less pronounced in more selective universities. The aim of the research was to explore the effects of this policy on the socioeconomic composition of enrolment in Chilean universities. For this purpose, a quantitative, comparative, and cross-sectional study was developed, which included data from 42 of the 54 universities between 2015 to 2023. The findings reveal that the Gratuity Policy’s effects are heterogeneous in universities and that it has less impact on the most selective group of institutions. Enrolment in these universities remains heavily influenced by performance in standardised selection tests, which are closely tied to students’ socioeconomic backgrounds. In conclusion, the Gratuity policy is a substantive advance for the inclusion of diversity in Chilean universities, however the access mechanisms to Higher Education are still strongly oriented to the performance in standardized selection tests and the socioeconomic contexts of origin of the students. This continues to limit the policy’s effect in selective universities, highlighting the need for further reforms to address these barriers and promote greater inclusion process.