Freshmen Program Withdrawal: Types and Recommendations.

Area of Science:

• Higher Education Studies
• Educational Psychology
• Sociology of Education

Background:

• University student dropout significantly impacts students and institutions, necessitating in-depth research for effective prevention.
• Existing research often overlooks diverse student withdrawal patterns, focusing narrowly on students who completely leave higher education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and characterize distinct types of university student dropout.
• To propose tailored recommendations for each identified dropout group.

Main Methods:

• An ex post facto study involving 1,311 freshmen from a Spanish university.
• Data collection via an ad-hoc questionnaire (telephone/online) and university data warehouse.
• Descriptive analysis and data mining techniques (decision trees) for classification and predictive modeling.

Main Results:

• Five distinct student groups were identified: persisting, program changers, university transfers, non-higher education enrollees, and those who quit studying.
• Data mining techniques facilitated the classification of students into these groups.
• Predictive models were generated to support differentiated intervention strategies.

Conclusions:

• Recognizing diverse student dropout typologies is essential for effective intervention.
• Tailored strategies based on specific student pathways can improve retention and reduce university attrition.
• This research provides a framework for institutions to better understand and address student withdrawal patterns.