Student Dropout from Higher Education Institutions
Is it all about Individual Effort? The Effect of Study Conditions on Students’ Dropout Intentions
Anna Marczuk (University of Konstanz)
Abstract:
Understanding why students drop out from university has received much attention within research. While the influence of students’ individual characteristics is well understood, the role of universities has rather been neglected. This study draws attention to the effect of study conditions on individual dropout intentions. On focus are teaching and achievement norms, the social climate, the structure of curriculum and the practical component of higher education programmes. A modified cost–benefit approach is introduced, systematising the most prominent individual dropout factors identified by prior research. It is assumed that these factors mediate the effect of study conditions on the dropout intention. Analyses are conducted with the German Student Survey data, allowing aggregated measurement of study conditions at the faculty level for the period between 2000 and 2016. Multilevel regression models support most of the theoretical assumptions: whereas a higher structure improves students’ academic self-efficacy and thus lowers their dropout intention, practical components have a similar effect by promising higher benefits on the labour market. On the other hand, achievement norms increase the dropout intention by lowering performance or by leading to high psychological burdens. The findings also indicate that frontal teaching lowers the academic self-efficacy of students and increases their dropout intention. Behind the social climate stand two opposed mechanisms: good contact with fellow students offers support and lowers dropout intentions, but can also distract from efficient studying. The study emphasises that study conditions play a significant role for student’ success by driving individual dropout factors.
Lower Student Dropout, Higher Change of Study Subject: Evidence from Swiss Administrative Data, 1975–2018
Richard Nennstiel & Zoé Brosy (University of Bern)
Abstract:
This paper aims to illustrate the extent to which structural changes, as well as institutional modifications of the higher education landscape, have influenced the completion, dropout, and subject change rates of Swiss university students between 1975 and 2018. During this period, university enrollment rates in Switzerland have increased, accompanied by a sharp rise in female university enrollment rates. Furthermore, the one-stage diploma system (five years) has been replaced with a two-stage study system (three plus two years) as a result of the Bologna reform in the 2000s. Using administrative data, our results indicate that the completion rate of students has increased over time, in particular for women, who have overtaken men. In addition, we can show that in the years after the introduction of the Bologna reform, the change of study rates increased, and hence more students remain in the higher education system, rather than leaving it. The unemployment rate, the percentage of female fellow students, and the number of fellow students in the study program have only marginal negative effects on the completion rate.