The High Dropout Rate of Students from Graduate Courses - Article Example

Distance Education Summary: The of this article is the high dropout rate from graduate s, and its impact on individual institutions and the education system. It also looks and the efforts that have gone into arresting the rate of drop out, and the possible means to increase the efficiency of retention strategies. High drop rate in graduate courses is a worrying factor for all concerned. While these figures may not be entirely true, it is of particular concern for institutions, where high drop out rates have a significant negative budgetary impact. The concern for high drop out rate is reflected in the importance given to retention strategies by the institutions. These strategies may be impacted by the fact that proper studies and investigations into all the reasons for students discontinuing their studies. This has particular reference to the instruction strategies used in the classrooms. Hence the effectiveness of these strategies is in doubt, and can be seen by the inability to contain drop out rates. Research into high drop out rates has suggested models for that could possibly predict student drop out rate. The most interesting and useful finding of these research studies is that drop out rates increase, when students fail to develop a sense of belonging to the institution, and when the curriculum and the instruction strategies fail to give them a sense of having learnt something. In earlier times high drop out rates were considered to be a reflection of the high standards of the institution. In the present days high drop out rates reflect the inability of the institution to deliver instruction and learning in a manner that is appreciated by the students. Therefore for effective reduction in drop out rates of students, institutions need to stop concentrating on the structure of their institutions, but rather on the students, and the delivery of their learning requirements through more appropriate curriculum and instruction strategies. (Barefoot, O.B., 2004) 2. Characterization of Article: This is a position or opinion paper. The author has taken an arguable position on the issue of student drop outs from, and has convincingly put forth her arguments, justifying many of them with references from other authors. (Crow, R., 2002) 3. Critical Analysis: The article makes an interesting point on the earlier beliefs of the reputation of an institution with regard to high drop out rates. It was my opinion too that high drop out rates occurred from colleges and institutions, as a result of the high educational standards maintained by these colleges and institutions, and the inability of students, who drop out, to meet these high standards. The author has made a powerful argument in favor of the position that high dropout rates are not a reflection of high standards, but rather a reflection of the inability to meet student expectations. In addition the fudging of figures by colleges and institutions to mask high drop out rates again shows the concern that colleges and institutions have for their reputation and high dropout rates (Schoenlein, J., 2004). The article again brings out the value of instruction strategies in retaining students. I was under the impression that reputation of institutions had a significant impact in the ability of the student to retain its students. This opinion of mine stands corrected, after accepting that it is not so much the reputation of the college and institutions that retain students, but rather the instruction strategies that are used by the institutions to make the learning process more meaningful to the students. Such instruction strategies making the classroom experience a more meaningful one underscores its ability for positioning the college and institution in the minds of students. (Gibbs, P & Knapp, M. 2002). The sense of belonging to an institution, as an essential factor in the ability of a college or institution to retain students has made an impression on me. I have not really reflected on my attraction to this institution, but on reading this article, I have reflected on it. I find that it is true, and one of the reasons that I have continued my college studies in this institute is that I feel I belong to the college community here. (Hurtado, S. & Carter, D. F., 1997). The only limitation that I find in this paper is that it fails to highlight the impact of ineffective guidance on career prospects and graduation courses. At the time of intake particularly into liberal arts courses ineffective guidance, might find a student more suitable for a vocational or technical education landing up in a liberal arts course of study. Such students will dropout from this course of study, as they will find the course of study unattractive and unsuited towards their career objectives (Wills, S. & Alexander, S. 2000) One area of research that could support the article is study into teacher attitudes in the classrooms and to students. Such studies will indicate the amount of success that the changes in instruction strategies will have. For it is the teaching community that would be responsible for implementing the changed instruction strategies recommended for reducing dropouts from college. If they are not likely to be amenable to this, then success will be hard to come by (MacDonald, C. 2005). Another area of research that could support the position of this article is whether retention strategies used in formal educational institutions have a similar impact in distance education, as they cater to different student requirements. (Perraton, H., Creed, C. & Robinson, B., 2002). Rating: Writing and Communication: For effective writing and communication this article deserves a rating of 5, as it is well structured and the opinions are well laid out and arguments are clearly presented. Supportive Evidence: For presentation of supportive evidence too, the article deserves a rating of 5. Nearly all opinions and put forth by the author are supported by evidence from research studies or relevant scholarly articles. Adequate evidence has been provided to make opinions acceptable. Relevance to Distance Education: This articles main focus is on formal education in colleges and institutions. There is information provided on the dropout rate from distance education programs in terms of the dropout rates from colleges and institutions. Retention strategies discussed for distance education is also linked to formal education in colleges and institutions. Since the focus has been on formal education there is limited effort to bring out the dropout problems with relationship to distance education. Since formal education and distance education cater to two different education requirements for students, this article can only be given a three with respect to relevance to distance education. Literary References Barefoot, O.B., (2004). Higher education’s revolving door: confronting the problem of student drop out in U.S. colleges and institutions. Open Learning, 19(1), 9-18. Crow, R. (2002). The Case for Institutional Repositories: A SPARC Position Paper. Retrieved January 27, 2007, from, The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition Web site: http://www.arl.org/sparc/IR/ir.html Gibbs, P & Knapp, M. (2002). Marketing Higher and Further Education. London: Kogan Page. Hurtado, S. & Carter, D. F. (1997). Effects of college transition and perceptions of the campus racial climate on Latino college students sense of belonging. Sociology of education, 70(4), 324-345. MacDonald, C. (2005). Intervention cuts dropout rate. Retrieved January 27, 2007, from, The Detroit News Web Site: http://detnews.com/2005/specialreport/0505/30/A01-197584.htm Perraton, H., Creed, C. & Robinson, B. (2002). TEACHER EDUCATION GUIDELINES: USING OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING. Retrieved January 27, 2007, from, UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION. Web site: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001253/125396e.pdf Schoenlein, J. (2004). Working On That Old Dropout Rate. Retrieved January 27, 2007, from, Principal Leadership, LookSmart, FINDARTICLES Web site: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4002/is_200403/ai_n9361220 Wills, S. & Alexander, S. (2000). Managing the introduction of technology in teaching and learning. In Terry Evans & Darryl Nation (Eds.) Changing University Teaching (pp. 56-72). London: Kogan Page.   Read More