Abstract:

The social dimension of higher education is one of the fundamental elements of university policies at the international level in these early twenty-first century.

Participation in higher education has been expanding considerably. Given the strong links between higher education and earnings, employment, overall social progress and the well-being of individuals, this expansion can serve as an important engine of social mobility if everyone can benefit from it. However, inequalities in both access to and success in higher education remain high.

In this context, we are worried about how do differences in social, economic and cultural background influence access to higher education and the completion of studies. For example, we noticed in previous studies fluctuations in graduation rates from 40% to 80% range depending on background of students.

Our research uses a logistic regression model to measure the real influence of this background on probability of get a degree in four or five years. In our poster, we present a study conducted by 10000 students, the complete cohort 2010-11 at the University of Barcelona. Based on these students, we analyse the effect of individual, cultural, social, economic and familiar factors.

This research address two principal results:
- Parents’ level of education still greatly influences on graduation rates.
- Inequalities in higher education reflect largely what happened earlier in secondary studies.

Keywords:

Graduation rates, higher education, social dimension, equity.