Expansion and equality in Chinese higher education

What is the relationship between the fast expansion of higher education and the equality of college enrollment opportunity in China? Based on the data from four large-scale surveys on college graduates in China, this paper explores this question by conducting empirical analysis on the family occupational, educational, regional, and economic status through descriptive and regression analyses. The result shows: Firstly, quantitatively speaking, enrollment opportunities have equalized in some aspects as well as unequalized in some others. The percentage of students from medium and inferior occupational families and the percentage of female students have increased, while the percentage of students from families with low academic qualification has not changed much more; but the percentage of students from county and below has obviously decreased. Secondly, qualitatively speaking, enrollment opportunity inequality has deepened continuously. Students with better family occupational, educational, regional, and economic status and male students have more chances to enter elite universities, and those groups have become more and more advantaged with the passing of time. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.