European student numbers rise, but funding falls

By Rok Primozic. The conception of higher education as a public good and a public responsibility is changing. Most European countries use cost sharing and there is a trend towards shifting the burden of study costs onto students. There are not many countries left in Europe that do not charge their domestic students some form of tuition fees – some 19 out of 26 countries observed in a two-year research project organised by the European Students' Union (ESU) and with the name Financing the Students’ Future (FINST), do so. Denmark, Finland, Malta, Slovenia, Sweden and Norway do still have tuition-free higher education systems, at least at undergraduate level. Austria does not formally recognise tuition fees within its legal system, but universities can decide for themselves whether to charge for tuition or not. Several countries – such as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – offer subsidised places where some students do not have to pay tuition fees, usually according to academic ability. Read more...