Abstract:

Under Higher Education Act, regular studies at public schools of higher education in Poland are free of charge, however the schools may collect tuition fees for non-regular studies, retaking specific classes due to unsatisfactory educational results, providing classes not covered by the studies programme, providing classes supplementing educational outcomes indispensable for taking the second-level studies. The amount of the fees may not exceed the costs borne. It is thus necessary and required to make the calculation of education costs, providing the grounds for calculating the fees to be paid by students. Such specific conditions and obligations of Polish schools of higher education have been demonstrated in the first part of the publication.

The second part presents the methodology of research. The article involves data analysis, description and comparison methods.

The third part presents the number of students of higher education institutions in Poland and the average individual education cost in public and non-public schools of higher education in 2012-2016 based on the data provided by the Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS). The paper presents the tuition fees for non-regular studies offered by a selected school of higher education in Poland in 2013-2018. The data on 7 faculties offering 21 majors (including 21 first-degree majors and 14 second-degree majors) is provided. The results of research and analyses are given in tables and figures.

The conclusions indicate a need for a thorough education costs calculation analysis as well as for recognizing the factors affecting the fees and their weight. It is necessary to make it possible for the schools of higher education to manage costs and to develop the educational offer in an informed manner.

Keywords:

Tuition fees, higher education, higher education services, education costs.