Student dropout rates in Catalan universities: profile and motives for disengagement

Abstract

Abstract:Data from over 21,600 students who had left Catalan higher education institutions during the academic years 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 has been analysed in order to describe the academic and personal profiles of university dropouts. Additionally, a telephone survey and face-to-face interviews with a pilot group of leavers were undertaken to gather additional qualitative information on the reasons for their decision. The influences on non-completion can be reduced to three main factors, among which dissatisfaction with the quality of the students' experience, family and work responsibilities, as well as economic difficulties, are prominent.Analysis conducted showed no significant differences among Catalan higher education institutions, the dropout percentages ranging from 28% to 33%. These rates should be understood within a context of broad access to higher education. Within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) scenario, the findings have triggered institutional endeavours to improve the quality of the students' and teachers' experience.

El problema del abandono en estudios a distancia. Respuestas desde el Diálogo Didáctico Mediado

“…Tabbodi, Rahgozar y Makki (2015) señalan que el alumno abandona cuando rinde poco, y permanece cuando el rendimiento es positivo. La fórmula rendimientoresultados, parece determinante al adoptar o no la decisión final de desertar (Dupin-Bryant, 2004;Moncada, 2014;Gairín, Triadó, Feixas, Figuera, Aparicio y Torrado, 2014;Choi y Park, 2018).…”

The influence of competences in business higher education: a student’s approach

“…The development of competences in the university enables students to acquire important skills and abilities, which improves not only the student's academic performance, but also his/her opportunity to get a better job in the future (Kong and Yang, 2014). In this way, if students perceive that they have acquired general competences, they will be satisfied with the degree, will increase his/her recommendations to colleagues and friends, and will feel that his/her election was correct, leading to a greater loyalty (Brown and Mazzarol, 2009;Gairín et al, 2014). All these facts will decrease the dropout rate and improve the recruitment of new students, even more in the age of social media when information is disseminated quickly (James and Casidy, 2016).…”

“…Moreover, other authors have tested the evaluation that recent postgraduates carry out about the competences acquired to develop the career that they want to perform (Azevedo et al, 2012). The relationship between the development of competences and the student's satisfaction with his/her education demands higher attention, especially whether we take into account that the individual's satisfaction diminishes the dropout rate (e.g., Duque, 2014;Gairín et al, 2014). In this context, a relevant topic that deserves more attention would be the influence of competences on the overall individual's satisfaction with his/her studies (Azevedo et al, 2008).…”

Terminated Students‟ Academic Performance: A Preliminary Assessment

“…There has been an increasing concern over engineering students failing to complete their degrees due to poor academic achievement. Academic achievement is an important determinant [7] as low performance leads to stress and dissatisfaction [8] resulting in students distancing themselves from their classmates, university degree courses and institutions [9]. Students with low level of academic performance and success have a higher probability of abandoning their course programs [10].…”