Student Expectations of the Financial Returns to Higher Education in the Czech Republic and England

The economic development of a nation or a region depends to a considerable extent on a highly educated and skilled workforce. This includes an appropriate supply of University graduates. The motivations of students to enter higher education are potentially many and various. However financial factors are known to be of considerable importance, particularly in subjects such as economics and business administration. It would be useful therefore to have an estimation of students' expectations of the financial returns to higher education. The results which are reported on in this paper provide data concerning the expectations of first year students in three Czech faculties of economics and one English Business School. First year students were surveyed because they had recently entered higher education. The findings show that students in both countries expect higher education to be a profitable investment. Expected rates of return are found to vary by gender as well as by country and place of study. In the case of England, it is concluded that the current level of tuition fees does not act as an incentive for students to enter higher education.