Política de gratuidad y desempeño académico en educación superior técnica profesional. Lecciones a partir del caso de Duoc UC.

This paper analyses the relationship between the gratuity policy implemented in Chile and measures of student academic performance from a higher vocational education and training institution. The research contributes evidence in a little explored field, especially regarding vocational education and training. Through the use of lineal and logistic regression models, it is possible to conclude that gratuity had an effect on reducing the number of dropouts and improving academic progress. The most significant effect is observed with students who in its absence, would have had to make a co-payment, since the financial aid they received would not have covered all expenses.  However, if gratuity beneficiaries are compared to those that would not have had to pay, because their scholarships and loans covered all expenses, the results show that the gratuity policy is less effective in terms of the two academic indicators analyzed.