In late 2017, the New Zealand Government introduced a finance policy in which citizens without prior tertiary experience could be eligible for 1 year of tertiary education without fees. The current study was conducted to examine new entrant students’ self-reported influence of the Fees-Free Policy on their decision to enrol in university and whether such influence varied as a function of group characteristics. Further, the study explored relations between policy-related influence, students’ early experiences during their transition to university, and semester-to-semester retention. With a cross-sectional design, participants were first-semester university students (n = 1028) from one New Zealand institution. Results showed that the policy influenced approximately one in three students in their decision to enrol in university, and 5.8% stated they would not have enrolled if the policy had not been implemented. Estimated policy influence differed across age, ethnicity, admission status, and priority learner status. Findings show that students who were more strongly influenced by the policy reported poorer academic self-efficacy, adjustment to university, subjective wellbeing, university satisfaction, and semester one Grade Point Average (GPA). Results indicate that students who were more strongly influenced by the policy were more likely to show interest in an early departure from the university within the first few weeks and less likely to continue their studies at the institution by the second semester. Discussion focusses on potential benefits and concerns involving the early implementation of this educational policy on students and their families/whānau, members of the tertiary sector, and Aotearoa New Zealand community.

中文翻译：

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免费政策对新西兰Aotearoa大学生的早期影响

2017 年底，新西兰政府推出了一项财政政策，其中没有高等教育经验的公民有资格免费接受 1 年的高等教育。目前的研究是为了检查新入学的学生自我报告的免费政策对他们进入大学的决定的影响，以及这种影响是否随着群体特征而变化。此外，该研究探讨了政策相关影响、学生在大学过渡期间的早期经历以及学期到学期的保留之间的关系。通过横断面设计，参与者是来自新西兰一所机构的第一学期大学生（n = 1028）。结果表明，该政策影响了大约三分之一的学生决定上大学，5. 8% 的人表示，如果该政策没有实施，他们就不会注册。估计的政策影响因年龄、种族、录取状态和优先学习者状态而异。结果表明，受政策影响较大的学生在学业自我效能感、大学适应能力、主观幸福感、大学满意度和第一学期平均绩点 (GPA) 方面表现较差。结果表明，受政策影响较大的学生更有可能在最初几周内对提前离开大学表现出兴趣，并且不太可能在第二学期继续在该机构学习。讨论的重点是对学生及其家庭/whānau 尽早实施这项教育政策的潜在好处和问题，