The high university dropout rates in Spain are a chronic problem and a cause for concern, both for educational administrations and universities. In addition to the public expense involved, the cost for families and the feeling of personal failure for the affected students must be taken into account.
Although defining what “dropout” means is not easy, given the great diversity of influencing variables and the different types that can be distinguished, we consider dropout to be a student who, having enrolled for the first time in a degree, does not enroll in the next two courses.
The CRUE (2023) published the report The Spanish university in figures where an exhaustive diagnosis of the Spanish University System (SUE) was collected. The data offered indicates that 20.17% of the students who studied in face-to-face public universities and 40.84% of those who did so in non-face-to-face public universities abandoned their training.
In the Study on dropout from undergraduate studies in the Spanish university system, commissioned by the Ministry of Universities in 2022, 13% of students who studied at face-to-face universities dropped out. Two communities, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, stood out for their high numbers, with a 21% dropout rate (20% at the ULL and 24.3% at the ULPG).
Causes and profiles of students who drop out
Proposals for solutions to this problem must combine the results of research on the causes of abandonment with the design and deployment of action proposals in different areas. This has been the objective of our research project, from which some significant data are derived:
1. Academic abandonment is more frequent in the first two years, being more pronounced when a place is not achieved in the first career option.
2. Among the reasons, the lack of preparation of students to adapt to university life and economic difficulties stand out; and lack of support from teachers and dissatisfaction with teaching methodologies and assessment methods.
3. In subsequent courses, dropout occurs as a consequence of the characteristics of the teaching system, lack of training and skills for managing study time. They also affect the change of residence and personal, family or work circumstances. Likewise, lack of motivation, dissatisfaction with studies and poor academic performance have an impact.
Three student profiles
We have identified three profiles of students who abandon their university careers. The most frequent is that of a male student who enters one or two years late and who enrolls in a career that was not his favorite.
The second is that of a student who enters without a university vocation and who abandons influenced by the opinion of third parties.
The third corresponds to motivated and committed students, but who are forced to drop out due to unforeseen circumstances.
What can be done?
Not satisfied with the diagnosis of the causes of the problem, in our project we have also proposed different types of actions that could be effective in reducing abandonment rates.
On the one hand, actions are needed aimed at reinforcing academic and personal orientation in the transition phase to university. In this sense, it is essential to support the guidance and tutoring tasks in the first courses that teachers take, with due recognition by the universities. Developing university tutoring plans constitutes an important strategy to facilitate the social and academic integration of students. Training teachers to perform this tutorial role should be included among the objectives of each institution.
On the other hand, it is advisable to deploy individualized mechanisms to monitor the performance of new students, with teaching coordination measures (between teachers of each year and those of each degree) and the promotion of active teaching methodologies. By placing the student at the center of the learning process, more meaningful and deeper learning is promoted and students are helped to learn better, avoiding the risk of dropping out of school.
Improve student engagement
Actions focused on improving the commitment and responsibility of students are another line of work. Strategies in this sense can be:
1. Tutoring, peer mentoring and peer guidance programs.
2. Training programs in work organization skills and competencies and learning strategies. We must opt for comprehensive training that includes broad skills (specific and transversal) and that prepares us for active life and the world of work.
3. Review and update study plans so that they are better in tune with the demands of society, and improve information on degrees. In addition, develop programs adapted to the different profiles of students.
At the university, it is also important to reinforce inclusive education and the personalization of teaching, responding to the needs of all students.
This group also includes actions aimed at making university education more flexible through microcredentials and the diversification of study modalities.
Apply recent research
A change with respect to the current panorama of university dropout involves the transfer of research results to the reality of each university. Until now, the value of knowledge generated from research as a transformative agent of the educational system has not been sufficiently recognized.
We must not accept as normal the high dropout rates and their enormous social and personal costs. The I Conference on University Academic Dropout, held at the University of La Laguna on June 6 and 7, 2024, is an opportunity to establish links of institutional collaboration between universities and the educational administration.
This article has been published in «The Conversation«.
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