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Access to Higher Education: Barriers to Enrollment and Choice

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Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions

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Access refers to whether a student attends higher education. In other words, it is the question of whether a student is able to enroll in any postsecondary institution. Choice focuses more on the student’s particular selection of an institution. While most students are able to access at least some colleges for attendance, they may not have the opportunity to attend any institution (i.e., choice) due to barriers, such as affordability and academic preparation or achievement level (Long 2007). For example, in the United States, financial aid policy and open admissions standards make public, 2-year colleges accessible to all students, but not all students are able to attend the more expensive and selective 4-year universities. While governments have created policies and programs to bolster college access, there are growing concerns about barriers to choicedue to the fact that there are differences in resources and outcomes for students by institution type (Long and...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Graduate School of Education, Longfellow Hall 101, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Bridget Terry Long

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  1. Bridget Terry Long
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Correspondence to Bridget Terry Long .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

    Jung Cheol Shin

  2. CIPES, Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Pedro Teixeira

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Long, B. (2017). Access to Higher Education: Barriers to Enrollment and Choice. In: Shin, J., Teixeira, P. (eds) Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_42-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_42-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9553-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9553-1

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