Admissions Officers’ Perceptions When Undocumented Students Seek In-State Resident Tuition Policy

Administrative burdens scholarship has explored the factors influencing bureaucrats’ perceptions and administrative discretion when entitled individuals seek policy benefits. Few studies, however, have recently investigated such phenomena with undocumented youth immigrants. Drawing from online web surveys and conducting a mixed methods study, I examine factors influencing admissions officers’ perceptions of requirements when undocumented youth claim in-state resident tuition benefits in U.S. colleges. The findings suggest that officers who interact more often with undocumented applicants and with more positive social constructions of them are less likely to support stringently applied administrative requirements when they seek in-state tuition benefits. However, such variables are insufficient to frame admissions officers’ decisions. State laws and organizational rules also constrain their administrative discretion regardless of their proclivity to facilitate access to in-state tuition benefits by undocumented youth. This study addresses the tension among public servants’ attitudes and bureaucratic factors mediating efficiency, equity, and integrity surrounding policy implementation. Findings contribute to higher education policy scholarship by exploring the roles of street-level bureaucrats as mediators among state policies, institutional rules, and the circumstances of undocumented applicants.