This paper seeks to advance our understanding of the drop-out behavior of students in higher education. Our results are based on longitudinal data for 7000 students who embarked on short and long programs from one university in Spain and who were observed over an eight-year period ending in 2004. The statistical analysis is carried out in a competing-risks framework. We find that academic preparedness is one of the major influences on student completion. Additionally, older students and students who delay entry into higher education are more likely to drop out before graduating. Our analysis provides guidance about the role that financial support plays in reducing drop-out rates; we also find that family characteristics are significant factors in explaining student drop out in long programs.higher education, student drop-out, discrete-time hazard,
From individual longitudinal data for a full cohort of first-entering students who embarked on short programs in Spain and were observed over a 7-year period ending in 2003, we analyze the probability that an individual will drop out, transfer, or graduate from a university school program. The statistical analysis is carried out in a competingrisks framework. We find that the system's internal efficiency is low, with dropout and completion rates averaging 50 and 36%, respectively. However, we find considerable variability in the probabilities of withdrawal, transfer, and graduation among students. In this regard, our results show that preenrollment academic ability, age at enrollment, family characteristics, and secondary educational experience are major influences on student progress.
The purpose of this paper is to identify the main determinants of time-to-degree in higher education. Our results use retrospective data on the full cohort of first-time entering students who embarked on short and long programs from one university in Spain and who were observed over an 8-year period ending in 2004. The descriptive analyses show that less than 40% of degree recipients are able to graduate within the minimum period of time. Duration models are estimated for different types of programs. The empirical results show that time-to-completion is extremely sensitive to students' abilities and, to a much lesser extent, to socio-economic background, motivation when entering the program and, gender. We find no evidence that delayed enrollment or size of program is associated with the amount of time it takes to earn a degree. Other things held constant, graduates who receive financial support continuously through the entire period finish faster, and promoting student performance at the beginning of the program significantly speeds student progress toward a degree.
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