White Papers
Estimating the cost of Tertiary Education in Jamaica
Ascertaining the true cost of providing an under- graduate degree in Jamaica is critical for students, tertiary institutions, and government policy-makers. For prospective and current university students, understanding the real cost of a degree may force them to make more cost-effective choices, thus, reducing the cost barrier to education and increasing the likelihood of finishing their degree programme. For policy-makers, this information is important in order to make decisions that ultimately enhance access to and choice of attaining a tertiary education. Lastly, tertiary institutions, and by extension the government, would be interested in decreasing this barrier (the real cost) to tertiary education which in turn would increase access, enrolment, and contribute more significantly to economic development.