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Guidance Counsellor Billy Ryle says the 15.5% dropout rate of 1st year students at 3rd level has alarm bells ringing loudly…
The new Higher Education Authority (HEA) report, containing 2021/22 progression rates in higher education for 1st year students into 2nd year has set alarm bells ringing due to the very high dropout levels.
Before the pandemic the non-progression rate was 12%. Dropout rates fell to a record low of 9% in 2019/20 when the colleges were more understanding of students’ difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020/21 the non-progression rate had again risen to 12%.
Alarmingly, the percentage of students who failed to progress from 1st year to 2nd year in the 2021/22 academic year has risen to 15.5% according to the latest HEA data.
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The proportion of students failing to progress is now more than 3.5% higher than it was prior to the pandemic.
Of the three award levels available to undergraduate students, Ordinary Bachelor Degrees (Level 7) entrants had the highest dropout rate at 31%, followed by Higher Certificate (Level 6) entrants at 25%, and Honours Bachelor Degrees (Level 8) entrants at 14%.
Almost 7,000 first year students, from a total of 45,190, didn’t make it into 2nd year for the following academic year, 2022/23.
Dropping out of college has very serious financial consequences for a student and her/his family and can be very detrimental to a young person’s mental health and self-confidence.
In the 2021/22 academic year, 23% of students from disadvantaged backgrounds did not make it to 2nd year compared to 12% from affluent backgrounds.
Male students are more at risk of dropping out of courses than female students, as are those with lower Leaving Cert points and those from socio-economic disadvantaged backgrounds.
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18% of male students and 13% of female students dropped out in 1st year. Leaving Certificate points is the factor with the largest effect on the odds of progression.
For example, only 4% of students who entered college with 600 to 625 Leaving Cert points failed to progress to 2nd year. At the opposite end of the points scale, 61% of students with 150 to 199 Leaving Cert points didn’t make it to 2nd year.
The HEA research concluded that students are confronted by many challenges in a post-Covid environment. Mental health and wellbeing, connectedness and belonging are all factors in students dropping out of 3rd level.
The lack of accommodation, the cost of college and the long daily commute to college are significant contributory factors in the high dropout rates.
There is also evidence of a sharp increase in the number of students seeking mental health supports in college. Pandemic-related disruption and online learning have led to a surge in isolation, loneliness and disconnection, particularly among 1st year students.
The HEA statistics are an alarm call to Minister Harris in his duty of care to the huge cohort of young people who fail to advance from 1st year to 2nd year at third level.
Its crystal clear that new entrants to college from high deprivation areas are less likely to progress in college without active supports on campus. Supporting students through higher education and on to successful lives is a hallmark of a caring society.
Rather than saying that Irish dropout rates are in line with other countries, Minister Harris would do well to put appropriate supports in place post-haste in order to reduce an unacceptable 15.5% non-progression rate.
Summary
• 15.5% of students failed to progress to 2nd year in the 2021/22 academic year
• Ordinary Bachelor Degrees (Level 7) entrants had the highest dropout rate at 31%
• Higher Certificate (Level 6) entrants had a dropout rate of 25%
• Honours Bachelor Degrees (Level 8) entrants had a dropout rate of 14%.
• Services courses (28%) and Engineering/Manufacturing/Construction courses (20%) had the highest dropout rates
• Education (7%) & Agriculture/Forestry/Fisheries/Veterinary (11%) had the lowest dropout rates
• 7,000 first year students, from a total of 45,190, didn’t make into 2nd year in 2021/22
• 23% of students from disadvantaged backgrounds didn’t make it to 2nd year
• 12% of students from affluent backgrounds didn’t make it to 2nd year
• 18% of male students and 13% of female students dropped out in 1st year
• Only 4% of students with 600/625 Leaving Cert points failed to progress to 2nd year
• A huge 61% of students with 150/199 Leaving Cert points didn’t make it to 2nd year
• 3rd level students are confronted by many challenges in a post-Covid environment
• The HEA statistics are an alarm call to Minister Harris in his duty of care to students
Billy Ryle is a Career Guidance Counsellor and Educational Commentator
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Accommodation crisis!
If you have no boarders or open boards there will be an uncontrolled number of entries into what was your nation state which will result in a crisis in housing and other services.
This has to do with demographics and betrayal by an elitist upper ruling class on their own western peoples.
The so called drop outs are probably also getting trades and emigrating, that’s what I would do if I was their generation!