Building the profile of students with the intention of dropping out of university studies.

Abstract

The analysis of the problem of dropout from university studies is a subject of great importance and topicality owing to the repercussions it has, not only in the economic and social sphere, but also at a personal, family, institutional level, etc. The objective of this article is to define a profile for a student who intends to abandon their university studies and who, therefore, is at risk of academic dropout. Various characteristics with a possible impact on this situation were analysed, both those of an individual, academic and socioeconomic nature and those which are personal. Specifically, we studied the variables of age, gender, how studies are financed, average university grade and order of preference of the degree course, as well as those related to academic satisfaction, adaptability skills and the student’s academic engagement. The analysis was conducted on students at the Universidad de La Laguna (ULL) according to degree field and academic year. The results obtained show that the students with the highest risk of dropping out of the degree programme are those in their first year, mainly in the field of sciences, who have chosen the degree course they are studying that was their third choice or lower, their average university grade has been a fail, they have a low level of academic engagement and are not very satisfied with the educational process.