Retention and Drop out amongst 1 year bachelor students at the Faculty for Engineering and Science

Purpose:
The purpose of the Dropout project is to gather knowledge about the dynamics of retention and dropout amongst 1 year bachelor students at the Faculty for Engineering and Science. It is also a purpose to seek out possibilities for offering support to those students that are in risk of dropping out.

Background:
We can observe an increased dropout rate among 1st year students above acceptabel limits

Case:
We have chosen medialogy as a case study since this education has a very high drop out rate. We will add the 1st year students of software and biotechnology to compare and to align with a similar investigation at SDU.

Research Questions:
What is the relationship between students motivation, expectation and 1st year experiences and their tendency to drop out or stay?

- Why do students at MEA drop out?
- What makes them continue their education?
- How can we increase retention at MEA 1st year?

Expected outcome
Knowledge about retention and drop out along with knowledge about support possibilities

Methodologies for Knowledge gathering:
Personal learning journal in the PV course filled out by students
Group discussions with external persons
Questionnaire
Selected interviews with students

Activities for Support:
Individual Consultation – both internal and external
Increased study guidance