Factors Impacting the Likelihood of Student Withdrawals in Core Business Classes

Abstract

The course withdrawal decision includes both monetary and time costs for the student. Institutional costs include the misallocation of scarce seats to noncompleting students. Understanding the course withdrawal decision process can aid advisors and administrators as they seek ways to improve retention and progression. This study uses 21,318 course outcomes from introductory business core courses for the period 2003 to 2013. Our results suggest a higher withdrawal probability for students with merit-based scholarships and with a previous history of withdrawals. Online courses and withdrawal-related policy changes are also important factors in the withdrawal decision. Individuals who are less likely to withdraw include those with a high GPA or SAT score, students with more experience, summer school attendees, and Black students. In addition, students in introductory economics or business law classes were less likely to withdraw than those taking introductory accounting courses. Variables such as need-based aid, gender, and age did not impact the course withdrawal decision.

Giving Up on a Course: An Analysis of Course Dropping Behaviors Among Community College Students

“…Analyzing survey responses from 204 Kansas State University students who had dropped one or more courses, Reed (1981) found students were more likely to drop elective courses than required coursework. Studies of four-year (Boldt et al, 2015) and community college (Jaggars, Edgecombe, & Stacey, 2013;Jaggars & Xu, 2010;Xu & Jaggars, 2011) students have found that fully online courses have higher withdrawal rates than face-to-face courses. In Washington State's community and technical college system, online courses had a completion rate 5.5% lower (Xu & Jaggars, 2011).…”

“…The factors leading to college attrition are not identical to the factors that lead to course attrition (Dunwoody & Frank, 1995;Reed, 1981). Only a handful of studies, however, have applied a theoretical or conceptual framework to specifically understand students' decisions to withdraw from a course (Adams & Becker, 1990;Boldt et al, 2015;Bosshardt, 2004;Hagedorn et al, 2007;Rownd et al, 1981). Some studies extend the work of Tinto (1987) and focus more broadly on students' ability or intent to complete college.…”

“…We adopted rational choice theory (RCT) to inform our understanding of course withdrawals among community college students, consistent with several of the more robust studies on course dropping (Boldt et al, 2015;Hagedorn et al, 2007). RCT contends individuals calculate the likely costs and benefits of any action before deciding how to proceed, and make decisions they believe will maximize utility/satisfaction from their preferences (Blau, 1997;Goode, 1997;Hechter, & Kanazawa, 1997;Heckathorne, 1997;Scott, 2000).…”

“…Additionally, students who drop courses are often required to repay all or a portion of their financial aid. Withdrawing from courses extends the time-to-degree, increases the total cost of college, and can add to a student's overall debt level (Boldt, Kassis, & Smith, 2015).…”

“…High rates of course dropping create financial inefficiencies and additional time costs for colleges (Boldt et al, 2015;Florida Department of Education, 2011;Hagedorn et al, 2007). A limited number of seats are available in each class section, and when a student reserves one, it is no longer available for other students.…”