Understanding student attrition in pharmacy education: Personal, academic, and environmental factors and their...

Student attrition remains a challenge in pharmacy education. This study examined the perceived influence of personal, academic, and environmental factors associated with student attrition, differences across selected student characteristics, and the interrelationships among attrition domains.

A descriptive-comparative study with an exploratory correlational component was conducted among 100 former pharmacy students who discontinued enrollment in a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy program. Responses to a validated attrition questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics, group comparison tests, and exploratory multiple linear regression analyses of inter-domain associations.

Academic factors obtained the highest composite mean (M = 2.83, SD = 0.71), followed by personal factors (M = 2.77, SD = 0.62), both interpreted as moderately influential. Environmental factors were rated as slightly influential (M = 2.17, SD = 0.79). Differences across senior high school academic strands were observed for Personal (ε² = 0.090), Academic (ε² = 0.102), and Environmental Factors (ε² = 0.062), with the largest group effect observed for Academic Factors. Male respondents also reported greater perceived influence of Academic Factors than female respondents (|rᵣᵦ| = 0.249). Exploratory regression analyses showed positive associations between Academic and Personal Factors (β = 0.585 and 0.519) and between Academic and Environmental Factors (β = 0.446 and 0.322), with the model for Academic Factors accounting for the greatest proportion of explained variance (R² = 0.543).

Student attrition in pharmacy appears to be associated primarily with academic and personal experiences. Academic factors showed the strongest and most consistent associations with the other attrition domains, highlighting their importance within the broader attrition experience and in understanding student persistence in pharmacy programs.