Most students have to have a balance between all of the areas of their life - home, parents, work, faith, children, social life...and school is just another area that is added in. If the student cannot find a balance that works for all these areas eventually school will drop in their importance and they will withdraw. Sometimes leaving school is a planned short term break with intent to come back, while others realize that they will never want to pursue graduation due to the sacrifices needed to reach success.
I think that there are many reason students withdraw before completing his or her program. The top one being financial reasons, they need to go back to work in order to pay their bills and they do not have enough financial aid to supplement their income. Some students also lack the self confidence and discipline it takes to achieve their educational goals so it is easier for them to give up and withdraw.
This is also true for our school. The majority of students that leave are due to personal or family issues.
Students leave, drop, withdraww for reasons such as
Personal
Family Issues
Health
SAP issues
Sometimes we never know why people choose to withdraw
There are various reasons students withdrawal. First, I would like to believe all students are attending our institution for the right reasons, but the reality is, that is not always the case. With this in mind, it is even more important that the students, who are attending for the right ones, are actively supported. In addition, because you can’t accurately determine a student’s intentions 100% of the time, you must treat everyone as a future graduate. This is important so that you have the opportunity to change the lives of students who may have originally came to school for the wrong reason.
Another reason for withdrawals is academic support. Our student population takes many steps before they enter our doors. It is important when they do, they know help is actively available. ALL THE TIME. For some, the hardest part, is just making it to the building. It is then their turn to take/ask for help. Setting the culture to ensure that students know they can do that is also of huge benefit to the college.
Sarah,
Absolutely, there are so may reasons why, particularly, non-traditional students do not complete their education. Many reasons we do not have control over, but what we can do is, as you say, ensure a supportive and skill-relevant environment where expectations are reasonable yet challenging and where information is fully and accurately disclosed so that students know where they stand at all times.
Jay Hollowell
I feel that students may leave for a number of reasons. If a student was not informed properly of the work required outside of the class, then he or she may have taken on more than they can handle. Some students realize half way through the program that they want to do a different career. Some students are thrown obstacles that are hard to overcome, like transportation issues, job loss, or babysitter issues. Students have to really see the benefits of post-secondary education to overcome all challenges.
Most of students leave due to unexpected family or personal issues.
There are several reasons that I see students withdraw before graduating. In my experience, I believe that ultimately it's a "failure" on both parts. I believe the student may not have been fully prepared to start school. HOWEVER, I also believe that it is a failure on our part, as well. Perhaps, we could have helped the student make a more informed or better choice upon enrollment. We have put policies in place to help reduce, if not eliminate, student withdrawals.
It ultimately comes down to communication. Students need to know, up front, that school requires a lot of dedication and discipline. Our student are told this in the admission's process and the concept in re-enforced throughout their program
Students may withdraw from school because of extenuating circumstances. Death in the family, illness, being a first generation student, or not having enough time or resources to progress. Students need academic and student support services to be successful in school. Students could also withdraw because they did not have all the necessary information or tools to persist through the program. It is the school's responsibility to provide the appropriate resources.
Students who withdraw from the institution before graduating can fall into many different areas of reason. From illness and family issues, that can in fact impact a student's life. Though students who withdraw for no apparent reason were influenced by not receiving the transparent truth regarding classes, tests, and the amount of time that needs to be dedicated to passing the class. Each student also learns differently from the next and where the student was not fully aware of the courses involved could easily drive their decision to withdraw.
My view is that most students have learning barriers that become more important than the education or do not feel like they can finish due to a barrier. If the learning barrier or obstacle is not identified or address, the likelihood of the student withdrawing would be higher.
Data shows that the highest percentage of students drop within their first quarter. Balancing school/work/life can be challenging even when there is full disclosure of study time and course requirements prior to the class start. If one asks a student the last thing they completed, the majority of the time they have a hard time answering that question. Their pattern has been to start something and then stop when things get tough or other items on their plate take priority. In addition, students do not always possess time management skills or the best study skills. Students also leave when there is a lack of connection whether it be with their instructor, classmates, or the culture of the campus.
This is my first semester teaching for this particular school, but I have noticed certain patterns at the other universities for which I teach. It seems that students leave for several reasons. Sometimes they begin a course of study and lose interest. Sometimes real life concerns like marriage and babies come up and students drop out. Students may feel like they can't hack it in a university setting. In my own classes, though, the most common reason for students leaving is that they realize they're not going to get an excellent grade for sub-par work.
The problem often encountered is a student disappears, rather than a formal withdrawal. Phone #'s are disconnected and other methods of communication go unanswered. Often the student doesn't have a support network and the challenges of balancing school, finances, work, are daunting without proper intervention to give them the tools to handle these situations.
Unforeseen personal issues unrelated to school such as health problems, economic problems i.e. they must return to full time work to support their family. The schools prescreening process is not always full proof. They may find school is more challenging than expected despite being fully informed. Transferability of credits can be a factor.
In my opinion, most students leave an institution because they are not personally prepared to attend school. Many students have daycare, housing, and transportation issues that may be resolved upon enrolling, but their lives change often and drastically, leaving them without any viable backup plans.
I also think that many times when a student withdraws, school's do not get the full picture as to why they are dropping. Some students will tell you the "truth" as they see it, but the reality is often quite different.
In my opinion, student withdrawal from school prior to graduation for a wide variety of reasons. Some include personal and family issues, medical issues, financial reasons, and time commitment.
I believe that most of the time it is due to personal issues from one thing to the next.
Any time they feel like someone in the Administration has been dishonest, or they get upset about anything they believe they were not told, they will usually leave.
