The effectiveness of academic dismissal policies in Dutch university education: an empirical investigation

Abstract

This paper uses national data on 450 Dutch bachelor programs to measure the effect of the introduction of academic dismissal policies on study progress and first-year drop-out. Our results show that these policies increase first-year drop-out on average by 6–7%. They also have the effect of improving the study progress of first-year survivors by 5–9%, as measured by their 4-year completion rate. We conclude that academic dismissal policies can be an effective intervention to decrease the study duration of motivated and talented students. Academic dismissal policies thus do not reduce student dropout, but rather bring it forward in time. While these policies strengthen the selective function of the first year, they do little to put dismissed students on a more successful academic path. The referential function of academic dismissal policies therefore needs further strengthening.

Keywords:

• binding study advice
• student dropout
• higher education

Notes

1 A full report would involve reporting per specification 42 coefficients for the field of study dummy variable, five coefficients for the time dummy variable and 12 coefficients for the institution dummy variable. The estimates of these dummy coefficients estimates are, however, available upon request.