The STUDENT DROP-OUTS
A RISING PROPORTION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ARE LEAVING AFTER THEIR FIRST YEAR
THE PROPORTION of first-year undergraduates dropping out of university is at its highest level in five years. New figures released by the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) show that some 6.4 per cent of students who started university in 2015/16 never made it to their second year.
Five years earlier, in 2010/11, some some 6.3 per cent of UK students left university after their first year. The figure fell to 5.7 per cent for the next two academic years, but rose to six per cent in 2013/14. It has climbed each year since. The proportion was highest back in 1998/99 - when some 7.9 per cent of first-year students dropped out of university. London Metropolitan University had the highest drop-out rate for students who started in 2015/16 - with nearly a fifth of undergraduates no longer in higher education by their second year.
In real numbers it means that 220 of the 1,130-strong first-year intake failed to return for their second year.
The University of Bolton also had a high drop-out rate at 17 per cent - though their initial intake was just 755 students.
Wrexham Gylndwr University in Wales and Middlesex University were joint in third place with a drop-out rate of 16.4 per cent.
Leeds Beckett had the highest number of actual students drop out of university after first year - 635, or 11.8 per cent of the total first-year students.
The University of Cambridge had the lowest proportion of first-year students drop out.
Fewer than one per cent (0.8) of its 2,555 intake failed to return for second year - or just 20 students.
The University of Oxford had the second-lowest drop-out rate with 1.1 per cent of its 2,570 students - or 30 individuals - leaving the university by the end of their first year.
A spokesperson for Universities UK said: “Universities work hard to support their students and to ensure they progress successfully.
“It is important that all students are supported during their time in higher education. “This includes improving the student’s academic skills and confidence through mentoring and ensuring that they have access to good quality careers advice. “Universities must continue to carry out outreach work to make sure that students receive clear information about their courses and what to expect from higher education.”