5 reasons for student attrition and how to address it

Whether it’s a college, a schools or a training centre, there are some very common triggers that lead to students dropping out of institutions. Most of these issues can come from a personal space or from the educational system itself. If these issues are not addressed properly by campus management at the right time, they can decrease student retention and greatly affect overall educational efforts of the institution.

Here are some stats related to the issue:

In the USA around 1.2 million students dropout of high school annually, where the graduation rank is 19th globally. In India, out of 100 students only 70 students reach senior secondary. The enrollment rate in India is 23%, in the USA 87%, and 39% in the UK.

The reason for dropout and low student retention in institutions are many, but there are some major issues that should be addressed as soon as possible.

Financial problems

It is one of the primary reasons for student attrition. Not being able to afford the cost of higher education or degree, family’s week financial status, the burden of responsibilities, etc. are the reasons that make students leave college and go for a job.

One grave challenge in this scenario is the student loan. In America student loan is one of the major causes of concern. According to a study by Margertia McNealin, in the US, over 40% of students borrowers are not able to pay their loans and that results in pushing them out of school.

Less quality time with educators

The low student-teacher ratio, especially in higher education is a prevalent problem in India. The current ratio is 24:1, lower than Brazil, China, Canada and Russia.

If students do not get proper guidance & counseling by educators, they may be unable to share and express their problems, leading to disinterest and eventually leaving the school.

For all levels of educational institutes, teacher-student quality time is very important. It helps teachers to understand students, his/her weaknesses and strengths, the reason behind the performance, his/her expectations from the institute, etc. It also helps students understand themselves better.

De-motivating institute environment

Lack of student-engagement activity, carelessness towards student attendance, outdated syllabus, orthodox teaching methods are some of the examples which lead to a demotivating institute environment.

Boredom’ is one reason students leave classes and eventually institutes.

According to a study by GradNation.org that surveyed the top reasons for dropping school, some of them show a significant trend from the classroom environment:

1. No one cared if I attended.
2. Teacher and school problems.
3. School environment

Poor administrative management

Institute management plays an important role in students’ academic journey. Ease of documentation processes, on-time access to information, better connectivity between management and students brings a positive perspective towards the institute.

However, slow document processing, miss-communication between students and staff, loss of data, etc. are still ongoing problems in this sector.

Lack of student support

Student support is an important factor that parents and students often skip checking during admissions, and institutes also do not give much emphasis on.

Higher studies are tough and along with other reasons, poor student support and de-personalized learning are also responsible for high dropout rates.

What are the measures to minimize student attrition from institutions?

If institutes can address and resolve the above-mentioned issues on time, it can impact positively on student retention and decrease drop out rates. For example, institutes can maintain a positive environment for students, schedule appropriate sessions for a student-teacher engagement, introduce proper administrative management, etc.

Online learning is leading to a decentralized education system with 24*7 access to educators & other resources. It is becoming a major trend in the education sector as it offers cheaper yet better access to books i.e. e-books, and cloud solutions to store academic data.

Also, institutes can take the help of technologies for a better institute management system, that can surely improve academic operations, increase teacher involvement, and ensure student success.

Check out technology trends in the education sector and learn how a college management system can benefit an institution.