Which students are most likely to drop out of university?
Originally published on the Conversation
Almost since taking
office, Education Minister Simon Birmingham has reiterated the Coalition’s
commitment to allowing universities to recruit as many students as they wish.
It is what the higher education sector has called “the demand driven system”.
Birmingham has,
however, emphasised that universities should not admit students who are
unlikely to complete their program. University attrition rates have
increased from 12.5% in 2009 before the demand driven system was phased in to
14.8% in 2014.
Universities have been
increasing enrolments to bolster revenue but some haven’t selected students
with enough care and provided them with enough support to ensure they succeed.
According to at least
one report, the
forthcoming budget on 3
May will include “penalties for institutions with high attrition
rates”.
Just how that will be
done is not entirely clear since attrition rates depend on numerous factors, only a minority of
which can be influenced by institutions.
So what do we know about who is likely to dropout and why? And what can universities do to reduce dropout rates?
To learn more about reducing attrition rates download the Student Retention and Success 2019 event guide