Changes in Enrollment and Socioeconomic Composition of the Colombian Higher Education System under the Free Tuition Policy

Colombia has followed the global trend of massification of higher education. However, in recent years, the Colombian State has sought to guarantee education rights for populations with significant access barriers by implementing a gradual free tuition policy. In 2019, the Duque administration initiated a strategy to subsidize tuition for vulnerable populations enrolled in public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), including indigenous communities, victims of armed conflict, and individuals living in poverty or with limited income-generating capacity. In 2024, the Petro administration expanded its beneficiary population and improved the conditions to maintain the benefit. This paper utilizes administrative data to investigate whether the free tuition policy has effectively increased access to higher education for vulnerable populations or merely shifted the funding source without altering the socioeconomic profile of higher education students. This study examines the period from 2019 to 2024, covering the start of the free tuition policy through the first year of its new direction. The research highlights the challenges of implementing the universality of higher education in a middle-income country, particularly given the geographic disparities in the availability of HEIs.