Student attrition in higher education is becoming a central problem that more and more institutions are facing. There was some discussion on student attrition in the International Faculty too. The MoVES initiative proposed by QSEC, IFEB and IFLTC includes forms of student support that aim towards some new form of mentoring for all new undergraduates. Although attrition is not a recent phenomenon, it is now examined in a much more critical way than it used to be examined in the past. Research within the last few years suggests that it is complex in nature that affects all the parties that are involved: the student who is leaving, the organization and the educator(s). Several studies have tried to address the major issues involved in students’ drop outs. Some of them have focused on higher education staff perceptions, some other have attempted to identify the factors on the basis of what students would state and there is also a number of studies figuring the related factors from all the main sides: students, staff and the learning environment.
Among the most widely accepted factors, which negatively affect student completion rates, there are:
Many of the reasons why students leave are interrelated and complex, and some students (e.g. mature students dealing with multiple roles) might be more at risk than some others. It is important to be proactive, but taking care of all students equally without labelling them is also important.
Students do not start their studies believing that they are going to quit and there is no a simple way to assess all the factors. The relevant research though that is greatly developing in this area, focuses on the stress levels that a student experiences when some of the factors indicated below affects their ability to concentrate on their studies. As such, there is a major relationship that is found between student counseling and successful degree completion. Several family, personal and psychosocial difficulties can either directly or indirectly affect a student’s likelihood to concentrate on their degree completion and receiving professional help may help a better integration in the institution, which in turn is found to correlate to academic performance and therefore to student retention. Transition from high school to college triggers not only psychological but also academic issues, as it brings up to the surface self-esteem and self-confidence problems, depression and without the necessary support and encouragement. Although more research is needed to strongly indicate this relationship, there are strong indications (e.g. Lee et al., 2009) that there is a statistically significant relationship between counseling and credit discrepancy (i.e. credits earned not in balance with credits taken). It is very important to refer the students who are struggling to the counseling services that are offered, and if feasible to monitor the student’s progress more closely after this referral, thus ensuring that all the potential is being used for the benefit of the student.
Suzie Savvidou, Department of Psychology
Among the most widely accepted factors, which negatively affect student completion rates, there are:
- Wrong choice of programme
- Poor quality of the student experience
- Inability to cope with the demands of the programme
- Unhappiness with the social environment
- Matters related to financial need
- Dissatisfaction with aspects of institutional provision
- Problems with relationships and finance
- Pressure of work (academic and employment)
- Learning efficiency
- Students self-efficacy
- Quality of instruction (students’ perception of the quality of teaching)
- Course difficulty in relation to academic support and counseling available
- Interaction with academic and administration staff
- Students’ goal commitment (planning skills and motivation)
- Time for learning (planning and organizing study programmes)
Many of the reasons why students leave are interrelated and complex, and some students (e.g. mature students dealing with multiple roles) might be more at risk than some others. It is important to be proactive, but taking care of all students equally without labelling them is also important.
Students do not start their studies believing that they are going to quit and there is no a simple way to assess all the factors. The relevant research though that is greatly developing in this area, focuses on the stress levels that a student experiences when some of the factors indicated below affects their ability to concentrate on their studies. As such, there is a major relationship that is found between student counseling and successful degree completion. Several family, personal and psychosocial difficulties can either directly or indirectly affect a student’s likelihood to concentrate on their degree completion and receiving professional help may help a better integration in the institution, which in turn is found to correlate to academic performance and therefore to student retention. Transition from high school to college triggers not only psychological but also academic issues, as it brings up to the surface self-esteem and self-confidence problems, depression and without the necessary support and encouragement. Although more research is needed to strongly indicate this relationship, there are strong indications (e.g. Lee et al., 2009) that there is a statistically significant relationship between counseling and credit discrepancy (i.e. credits earned not in balance with credits taken). It is very important to refer the students who are struggling to the counseling services that are offered, and if feasible to monitor the student’s progress more closely after this referral, thus ensuring that all the potential is being used for the benefit of the student.
Suzie Savvidou, Department of Psychology
Great post!
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