University drop-out rates rise across UK
● University of Abertay pledges action after it is shown to have largest increase
The proportion of dropout students has risen at two in three UK universities and colleges in just five years, with a Scottish institution recording the highest rise.
The University of Abertay in Dundee posted the largest increase in drop-outs from 2011/12 to 2016/17. One hundred UK institutions saw a rise in the proportion of students dropping out.
Two thirds of universities and colleges have seen an increase in the proportion of students dropping out in the past five years, official figures show.
An analysis shows that in some cases, non-continuation rates have risen by more than five percentage points, with the largest increase at the University of Abertay in Dundee.
The figures come at a time when universities are under greater scrutiny and pressure to be more transparent about areas such as drop-out rates and graduate outcomes.
One expert said that students can end up feeling demoralised if university does not work out for them, but that leaving early does not mean that they should not have gone at all.
The analysis examined data on the five-year period from 2011/12 – the year before tuition fees in England were trebled to £9,000 – to 2016/17 (the last year for which data is available).
It reveals that 100 UK institutions (67 per cent) saw an increase in the proportion of students dropping out. At just under a third (31 per cent), some 46 institutions, non-continuation rates fell during this period, while at four universities and colleges the proportion remained static.
The University of Abertay saw a rise of 8.6 percentage points over this five-year period, from 3.5 per cent in 2011/12 to 12.1 per cent in 2016/17.
A spokesman for the university said the institution “recognises that there is a need to improve student retention” and is introducing measures to do so, including recruiting additional student advisers and using data analysis to pinpoint early warning signs that a student may be experiencing difficulties and need support.
He added that Abertay has one of the highest proportions of disadvantaged students in Scotland, and that more than a third of students arrive at the university from college into the second or third year of a degree.
“This means the life experiences of our students are often very different from those elsewhere,” he said.
In England, Bedfordshire University had the biggest increase in non-continuation rates, at 6.9 percentage points, going from 8.3 per cent in 2011/12 to 15.2 per cent in 2016/17.
A total of seven institutions had an increase of more than five percentage points in the five-year period, while 19 had an increase of more than three percentage points.
The analysis uses annual data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency for 150 universities and colleges, and covers UK, full-time undergraduate students who were no longer in higher education the year after they started their course.
A spokesman for vice-chancellors’ group Universities UK said: “Universities are committed to widening access to higher education and ensuring students from all backgrounds can succeed and progress.
“This includes supporting students to achieve the best outcomes in not only getting into university, but flourishing while they are there.”