Student non-completion of an undergraduate degree: wrong program selection or part of a career plan?

Institution wide comparisons of students who leave university before completing their degree and students who complete their studies, have identified 'wrong course selection' and a lack of vocational focus as common reasons for non-completion. It is not fully understood, though, whether th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Higher education research and development 2011-04, Vol.30 (2), p.165-177
Main Authors: O'Keefe, M., Laven, G., Burgess, T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Academic Persistence
Allied health occupations education
Australia
Bachelor of Health Sciences course
Biomedicine
Career Planning
Careers
College Freshmen
College Transfer Students
Comparative Analysis
Course Selection (Students)
Dropout research
Dropouts
Enrollment
Enrolment influences
Expectation
first year experience
First year students
Foreign Countries
health sciences
Higher Education
Likert Scales
Outcomes of Education
Questionnaires
retention
School Holding Power
Sciences
Student attitudes
Student experience
Student Reaction
Student retention
Student surveys
Surveys
Technology
Tertiary students
undergraduate student
Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate Study
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Summary:Institution wide comparisons of students who leave university before completing their degree and students who complete their studies, have identified 'wrong course selection' and a lack of vocational focus as common reasons for non-completion. It is not fully understood, though, whether these trends are constant across different disciplines and programs and whether all relevant contributing factors, in particular career intentions, have been considered. This study was undertaken to explore reasons for student non-completion in more detail in one program. Students enrolled in an undergraduate health sciences degree completed a questionnaire at enrolment and another 12 months later, regarding their reasons for enrolment, career intentions and expectations for/experiences of learning. Students who did not re-enrol after the first year were invited to complete a separate exit questionnaire regarding their reasons for not re-enrolling. Many students who did not re-enrol after the first year of study transferred to another degree that was more aligned with their career intentions. In this context rather than a 'wrong' selection, non-completion of the initial undergraduate degree formed part of a career plan.
ISSN:0729-4360
1469-8366
DOI:10.1080/07294360.2010.512630