Student dropout in Engineering Education is an important problem which has been studied from different perspectives, as well as using different techniques. This manuscript describes the methodology used in order to address this question in the context of learning analytics. Bayesian networks have been used as they provide adequate methods for the representation, interpretation and contextualization of data. The proposed approach is illustrated through a case study about Computer Science (CS) dropout at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), which is close to 40%. To that end, several Bayesian networks were obtained from a database which contained 383 records representing both academic and social data of the students enrolled in the CS degree during four courses. Then, these probabilistic models were interpreted and evaluated. The results obtained revealed that the best model that fits the data is provided by the K2 algorithm although the great heterogeneity of the data studied did not permit the adjustment of the dropout profile of the student too accurately. Nonetheless, the methodology described here can be taken as a reference for future works.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.