What Are They Thinking? Students' Affective Reasoning and Attitudes about Course Withdrawal

Abstract

In this mixed-methods study we identify situations that impact students' decisions to withdraw from a course and examine their affective reasoning and attitudes toward course withdrawal. Exploring students' decision-making processes through the lens of self-authorship, we show that students frequently seek information from people with whom they have a personal rather than academic relationship, make decisions with little awareness of academic consequences, and often experience a feeling of dissonance when withdrawing from courses, even describing themselves as “quitters.” Our results lead to recommendations that can assist academic advisors in developing meaningful interventions that advance students' decision-making abilities and intellectual development.

Giving Up on a Course: An Analysis of Course Dropping Behaviors Among Community College Students

“…Rational choice theory predicts a student will withdraw from a course when the perceived costs of remaining enrolled outweigh the perceived benefits. Drawing on empirical studies of community college students' decision-making processes (Bailey et al, 2015a;McKinney, Mukherjee, Wade, Shefman, & Breed, 2015;Scott-Clayton, 2011;Wheland et al, 2012), we assert students' assessment of the cost-benefits of dropping a course is frequently inaccurate. This occurs because students do not have the requisite time, information, and/or guidance to make the optimal decision about withdrawing.…”

“…In a climate of increased budget reductions, excessive course dropping is problematic because it decreases the efficiency and overall performance of the higher education system (Florida Department of Education, 2011;Wheland et al, 2012). The sheer volume of course withdrawals processed at UCC during the six years under investigation undoubtedly generated substantial financial and time costs for many offices at the college, including the registrar, bursar, academic advising, and financial aid.…”

“…The leading academic reasons for course withdrawal appear to be similar for four-year and community college students. Perhaps the most commonly cited reason for course withdrawal is the fear of receiving a low grade or failing the course (Daly & Bateman, 1978;Dunwoody & Frank, 1995;Reed, 1981;Wheland et al, 2012). Other academic reasons for withdrawal include:…”

“…feeling overwhelmed by workload and assignments (Daly & Bateman, 1978;Friedlander, 1980), content was too difficult (Babad et al, 2008;Wheland et al, 2012), dislike of thee instructor or the instructor's teaching style (Babad et al, 2008;Conklin, 1997;Daly & Bateman, 1978;Moran, 1995;Reed, 1981), and feeling the need to reduce the course load (Conklin, 1997).…”

“…This student must retake the course in a future term and again reserve a classroom spot. Course dropping also places additional burden on academic advising offices because many colleges require that students meet with an advisor before they can drop a course (Wheland et al, 2012).…”