What Students are Telling us about Why They Left Their ICT Course

Figures & data

Table 1 Responses to reasons for attrition associated with the university environment (SD = Strongly Disagree to SA = Strongly Agree)

University Experience Reasons	Total Num.	SD %	D %	N %	A %	SA %
There were too many distractions preventing me from concentrating on my studies	153	13.7	26.1	19.6	32.7	7.8
Organising a suitable timetable, with no clashes, was challenging	152	20.4	34.9	17.1	18.4	9.2
I couldn’t get help when I needed it	150	19.3	37.3	16.7	18.0	8.7
The University staff were not friendly	151	25.2	35.8	21.9	11.9	5.3
The University facilities were not adequate	152	23.7	43.4	18.4	10.5	3.9
There were no opportunities to socialise	151	19.9	39.7	27.2	9.3	4.0
Attending evening classes posed a security risk	152	38.8	38.2	19.1	3.3	0.7

Table 2 Responses to reasons for attrition associated with the course experience (SD = Strongly Disagree to SA = Strongly Agree)

Course Experience Reasons	Total Num.	SD %	D %	N %	A %	SA %
Teaching
The classes were boring	151	9.9	27.8	19.9	25.8	16.6
The pace of teaching was too fast	152	17.1	33.6	17.1	20.4	11.8
The teachers didn’t explain the exercises	151	13.9	38.4	19.2	19.9	8.6
I wasn’t encouraged to do well by the teachers	151	15.2	34.4	27.8	16.6	6.0
The teaching methods were harsh and confrontational	152	20.4	43.4	24.3	10.5	1.3
The teachers were not prepared	152	18.4	51.3	20.4	5.9	3.9
The teachers’ knowledge was out of date	152	15.1	44.1	25.0	11.8	3.9
Course
The course didn’t have a workplace focus	151	9.9	27.2	25.8	25.8	11.3
The course lacked practical applications	151	12.6	39.1	17.2	19.9	11.3
The course didn’t have a business focus	152	14.5	26.3	28.3	21.7	9.2
The course was too theoretical	152	13.8	34.9	22.4	22.4	6.6
The course was poorly structured	149	12.8	34.9	25.5	15.4	11.4
There were too many assignments	147	13.6	36.7	27.9	18.4	3.4
The focus was on individual activities rather than groups	149	18.1	32.2	30.2	13.4	6.0
The course was too mathematical	151	15.9	46.4	19.2	12.6	6.0
Teaching and learning environment
Academic environment did not suit my learning style	152	13.2	32.9	18.4	23.7	11.8
I didn’t feel I fitted in or belonged	147	18.4	27.9	17.7	24.5	11.6
The teaching environment was not welcoming	152	15.1	38.2	21.1	17.1	8.6
I was in the minority in my classes	146	24.7	32.2	17.8	16.4	8.9
The course was too competitive	151	17.9	40.4	28.5	11.9	1.3
Preparedness and other student issues
The course didn’t meet my expectations	148	8.8	20.9	16.9	30.4	23.0
I didn’t enjoy attending classes	146	12.3	18.5	19.9	32.9	16.4
I didn’t understand the concepts	152	17.1	33.6	15.8	24.3	9.2
My results were not as high as I expected	149	12.1	29.5	28.9	22.1	7.4
I didn’t make friends with classmates	145	15.2	33.8	24.1	17.9	9.0
I didn’t understand the meaning of the terms used in the course	149	18.8	40.3	18.1	20.1	2.7
I didn’t have the expected background knowledge	148	23.6	35.1	16.2	15.5	9.5
I felt it was unacceptable to be smart	147	36.7	44.2	14.3	4.8	0.0

Table 3 Responses to reasons associated with students and their lives (SD = Strongly Disagree to SA = Strongly Agree)

Life Experience Reasons	Total Num.	SD %	D %	N %	A %	SA %
I picked the wrong degree	144	18.1	17.4	20.8	20.8	22.9
Attending university was too expensive	142	23.9	21.8	16.9	21.1	16.6
There was conflict with my work commitments	143	26.6	23.1	14.0	21.0	15.4
My timetable didn’t fit with my work commitments	144	22.2	25.0	19.4	17.4	16.0
Travelling to University was/is difficult because of distance	145	31.7	25.5	17.9	15.2	9.7
Travelling to University was/is difficult because of transport	145	30.3	29.0	17.2	14.5	9.0
I couldn’t get financial aid	141	32.6	25.5	22.0	9.2	10.6
My timetable didn’t fit with the transport timetable	143	30.8	29.4	25.2	9.8	4.9
My family didn’t help me to study at home	144	37.5	25.7	23.6	9.7	3.5
Living at home was too difficult	145	33.1	31.0	26.9	6.2	2.8
I became very ill or was involved in a serious accident	145	47.6	24.8	19.3	4.8	3.4
Studying at University wasn’t as important as socialising with my friends	144	34.0	37.5	20.8	6.3	1.4
Living away from home was too difficult	144	31.9	26.4	33.3	2.8	5.6
A family member died or was very ill or had a serious accident	144	50.7	25.0	17.4	4.2	2.8
I lost my job	143	48.3	25.2	21.0	3.5	2.1
I missed my family	144	34.7	32.6	27.8	3.5	1.4
I or my partner got pregnant.	144	52.1	20.1	23.6	2.8	1.4
Living in student accommodation was too difficult	142	26.8	21.1	47.9	3.5	0.7

Figure 1 Dominant reasons for leaving ICT courses

Table 4 Female participant responses to gender specific reasons for leaving an ICT course (SD = Strongly Disagree to SA = Strongly Agree)

Gender Specific Reasons	Total Num.	SD %	D %	N %	A %	SA %
There were no or few females in the classes	27	11.1	3.7	22.2	48.1	14.8
The course content was male oriented	29	20.7	24.1	27.6	20.7	6.9
Students acted or spoke in a sexist manner	28	28.6	32.1	32.1	3.6	3.6
Male students wouldn’t let me participate	27	25.9	40.7	29.6	3.7	0.0
Male staff didn’t encourage me to participate	27	25.9	33.3	22.2	18.5	0.0
Male staff acted or spoke in a sexist manner	27	33.3	37.0	25.9	0.0	3.7

Table 5 Reasons for attrition with significantly different levels of agreement between females and males

Reasons	Females	Males
	Mean	Std. dev.	Mean	Std. dev.	Sign.
There were too many distractions preventing me from concentrating on my studies	2.48	1.06	3.06	1.22	0.020
I didn’t understand the concepts	3.54	1.17	2.57	1.21	<0.001
I didn’t have the expected background knowledge	3.00	1.30	2.41	1.24	0.026
I didn’t understand the meaning of the terms used in the course	2.96	1.29	2.36	1.02	0.022
My results were not as high as I expected	3.29	1.15	2.73	1.10	0.024
I was in the minority in my classes	3.04	1.26	2.41	1.25	0.018
I picked the wrong degree	3.63	1.36	3.02	1.41	0.041

Table 6 Reasons for attrition with significantly different levels of agreement between participants who were full time and those that were part time

Reasons	Full time	Part time
	Mean	Std. dev.	Mean	Std. dev.	Sign.
University environment
Academic environment did not suit my learning style	3.07	1.18	2.35	1.31	0.001
I couldn’t get help when I needed it	2.75	1.23	2.15	1.14	0.008
The university staff were not friendly	2.51	1.17	1.92	0.91	0.006
Course/teaching
The pace of teaching was too fast	2.96	1.28	2.21	1.15	0.001
The classes were boring	3.31	1.22	2.54	1.23	0.001
The teachers didn’t explain the exercises	2.85	1.20	2.31	1.06	0.018
The course was too competitive	2.50	0.99	2.05	0.78	0.013
The course was too theoretical	2.93	1.10	2.17	1.11	<0.001
I didn’t understand the concepts	2.94	1.25	2.23	1.12	0.002
The course was too mathematical	2.65	1.12	1.95	0.78	<0.001
I didn’t have the expected background knowledge	2.66	1.30	2.15	1.12	0.034
The course was poorly structured	2.94	1.18	2.33	1.14	0.003
The course didn’t meet my expectations	3.53	1.25	2.98	1.31	0.021
I didn’t understand the meaning of the terms used in the course	2.62	1.10	2.08	0.97	0.006
There were too many assignments	2.76	1.07	2.21	0.86	0.005
I didn’t feel I fitted in or belonged	3.00	1.31	2.38	1.19	0.011
I didn’t enjoy attending classes	3.47	1.20	2.58	1.24	<0.001
Life
I picked the wrong degree	3.41	1.40	2.38	1.18	<0.001
My timetable didn’t fit with my work commitments	2.61	1.28	3.31	1.56	0.012
There was conflict with my work commitments	2.56	1.30	3.28	1.67	0.015
My timetable didn’t fit with the transport timetable	2.42	1.20	1.92	0.93	0.033
Studying at University wasn’t as important as socialising with my friends	2.15	0.99	1.72	0.82	0.016

Table 7 Reasons for attrition with significantly different levels of agreement between participants who were 20 or younger when they enrolled and those who were 21 or older

Reasons	20 or under	21 or over
	Mean	Std. dev.	Mean	Std. dev.	Sign.
Course/teaching
Academic environment did not suit my learning style	3.08	1.16	2.68	1.32	0.038
The pace of teaching was too fast	3.00	1.13	2.51	1.22	0.022
The classes were boring	3.58	1.16	2.62	1.19	<0.001
The teachers didn’t explain the exercises	2.95	1.19	2.44	1.14	0.010
The course was too competitive	2.54	0.98	2.22	0.92	0.040
The course was too theoretical	2.96	1.33	2.49	1.13	0.011
I didn’t understand the concepts	3.15	1.28	2.32	1.09	<0.001
The course was too mathematical	2.66	1.12	2.26	1.02	0.015
The course didn’t have a business focus	3.05	1.27	2.64	1.07	0.034
I didn’t have the expected background knowledge	2.78	1.37	2.26	1.11	0.023
The course didn’t meet my expectations	3.65	1.23	3.11	1.29	0.010
I didn’t understand the meaning of the terms used in the course	2.71	1.16	2.24	0.98	0.015
There were too many assignments	2.82	1.08	2.41	0.96	0.017
My results were not as high as I expected	3.04	1.13	2.62	1.09	0.040
I didn’t feel I fitted in or belonged	3.10	1.34	2.57	1.22	0.016
I didn’t enjoy attending classes	3.83	1.05	2.64	1.20	<0.000
Life
I or my partner got pregnant	1.58	0.84	2.04	1.07	0.006
There was conflict with my work commitments	2.44	1.30	3.09	1.51	0.009
I lost my job	1.69	0.93	2.03	1.06	0.043
A family member died or was very ill or had a serious accident	1.62	0.95	2.06	1.08	0.005
Attending university was too expensive	2.58	1.43	3.10	1.37	0.028
I picked the wrong degree	3.77	1.30	2.48	1.24	<0.000