Evaluating a university?s investment in arts programming on student arts participation

An individual?s level of education has the strongest relationship with his or her arts participation. What is unclear, however, is why high-educated individuals are more likely to participate in the arts. Economic models indicate that price, income, and background are relevant to attendance, but the role these factors play among high-educated groups, like college students, remains underexplored. This study sheds light on what makes college students more likely to participate in the arts by evaluating a university?s investment in arts programming on campus. We analyze data from an experiment in which a university made substantial investments in arts programming largely centred on increasing access to the arts by providing more free programmes. Using pre- and post-intervention survey data, we analyze changes in students? reported level of arts participation and barriers to arts involvement. The results from our analyses show that background, such as familiarity and experience in the arts, is the strongest predictor of increased arts participation among college students when prices are reduced.