One in five switch courses in second year at university
AROUND ONE in five students do not continue studying the same degree at the same university into the second year of the course, figures suggest.
Nearly as many students repeat their first year as the numbers that drop out, according to a report by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
The findings are likely to raise fresh concerns about whether would-be university students are getting enough good advice about where and what to study.
The report is based on an analysis of data on UK full-time undergraduates at English universities between 2007/08 and 2014/15, at the end of the first year of their degree courses.
Non-continuation, or drop-out rates, are published annually, but this research looks at a wider set of outcomes for students – such as whether they change courses or choose to go to a different university.
It concludes: “The most common outcome for students is to continue into year two in the same subject at the same institution. More than 80 per cent of students do this each year, but this means that approximately one in five students do not continue straight on to the second year of their degree course.”
The second most common outcome is for a student to leave higher education. This non-continuation rate varies across the years analysed, with a lowest rate of 6.6 per cent in 2011/12, and a highest of 8.4 per cent in 2009/10.
Nick Hillman, of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), said: “When I see freshers struggling with higher education, I am reminded of birds falling out of their nests when learning how to fly. It is a shock to the system. Some deal with it quickly and, when this happens, the students become successful independent adults. Others, especially disadvantaged and first-in-family students, need more support.”
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “Our reforms, embodied by the Higher Education and Research Act, are helping students make more informed choices about where and what to study.”