Posts tagged with drop.

When working doesn't work for students

Kathy Dobson, April 16, 2009 at 5:13 PM

According to a study from the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation released today, I might have made a huge mistake when I encouraged my two oldest kids to get part-time jobs while in university.

Although working those 10 to 15 hours each week helps pay for their higher education, and hopefully teaches them some important life lessons along the way, those part-time jobs could also be putting them at increased risk of dropping out of university.

The report claims that although working less than 10 hours per week increases the odds of a first-year student not returning to school, working more than 20 hours a week almost doubles that risk.

Today, more students are working part-time than ever before. According to the study, close to 50% of all full-time post-secondary education students have jobs during the school year.

Yet for many students, it presents a paradox: they need to work in order to get their higher education. But if they work, they can't get their higher education.

Because even if you don't drop out, trying to earn some money while in school can also have a significantly negative effect on post-secondary grades.

In other words, poor study habits and too much partying aren't the only way to fail to a course: you can also get a part-time job.

Of course, some people don't have a choice. They have to work while in school. Starting in my late teens, I lived on my own and had to work almost full-time hours throughout my own post-secondary education. But like most parents, I wanted to make things easier for my own children.

I don't want my kids to have to worry about stuff like paying the rent or buying groceries. At least not yet. I want them to see getting a higher education as their most important full-time job right now.

Working 10 to 15 hours a week seemed like the perfect compromise. Just enough to have them help pay for part of their education, while also teaching them the value of learning how to juggle and balance work with studying and class time.

But if one of the biggest risk factors for dropping out of university is a part-time job, does this mean I should now encourage my kids to quit their jobs?

Of course not.

The authors of the study weren't suggesting that any one student in particular should quit their job because working was having a negative impact on his or her grades.

"Our finding is more of a general warning signal - a warning that working among post -secondary students has increased to historically high levels and is harming the academic success of some students."

In other words, for some students, work and school don't mix very well. Yet unfortunately for most students, they often don't have a choice.

Some of us simply must work, if we want to earn a higher education.

Tagged with drop, out, jobs, working, study, part-time, foundation, millennium, scholarship | Comments (10) |

Why do so many first-year students drop out?

Kathy Dobson, February 19, 2009 at 11:30 AM

According to a study published by Statistics Canada, approximately fifteen percent of first-year students won't make it to their second year of university.

To be honest, I thought the number of drop-outs would be higher.

I already knew that students in their freshman year are at the highest risk of dropping out. It just makes sense. Attending university is a huge commitment of both time and money. In addition to a more demanding academic work load than many students coming out of the public high school system are used to, university also often means living away from home for the first time. And suddenly having to make adult decisions on a regular basis.

Yes, many students welcome this first taste of freedom, perhaps living away from home and their parents for the first time. But for some students, a combination of homesickness, loneliness, and stress over their poor academic performance can make them especially vulnerable to dropping out of school in their first or second semester.

High school doesn't seem to always do that great of a job at helping to prepare students for university, either.

A study by the university of Manitoba suggests that even former high achievers in high school, those kids who graduated at the top of their class with straight A's, are at a high risk. In fact, the study claims that nearly one in four of those students will be asked to leave, thanks to failing grades.

First year students (and their parents) are often shocked to see their marks drop as much as 15 percent from what they were used to earning in high school. According to the University of Manitoba study, nearly two-thirds of students end up feeling uncertain about what to study, with many changing their majors. This results in students taking longer then four years to complete their undergraduate degree.

I've read reports which claim drop out rates as high as 28%, but many of those students eventually return to university, changing their major and transferring into a different program. Some freshmen drop-outs transfer into college.

According to the Council of Ontario Universities, despite all the challenges of that freshmen year, an average of 88% of Ontario's first-year students do eventually move on to second year.

Many universities, concerned about high drop out rates among first-year students, are looking for ways to help improve their retention rates.

The University of Manitoba has designed a special program for students in their freshman year. Students can take a wide variety of subjects in their first year and don't have to decide on a major until their second year. All the credits earned during their first year can be applied to whatever degree they decide to go after.

By giving students support and flexibility during that crucial first year, Manitoba hopes fewer students will drop out. And perhaps fewer will waste time taking courses that won't count towards a degree requirement if a student decides to change their major after their first year.

In a Stats Canada report which looks at who leaves university and why, it's pretty clear that it isn't just those academically 'weak' students who are dropping out of post-secondary education.

Although high school performance is considered a pretty good indicator of who is more likely to stay in university, it's about more than just good grades. Those high school students who tend to succeed at the post-secondary level are those who have already developed good work and study habits.

In addition to poor high school grades, financial difficulties are also considered a strong indicator of who is more vulnerable to dropping out.

Students with dependant children are also at increased risk.

There's some strong evidence which links certainty about career goals, to those who stay in school. In other words, if a student goes into university with a strong idea already about what they hope to do career-wise after graduation, they have a significantly better chance of making it to their final year.

As parents, this means we need to recognize that not all of our children are ready to attend university straight out of high school. Some need a year, or more, to mature. And time to really figure out what they want to do with their future.

And for some, university might never be part of the picture.

Instead, some might decide to go into the trades or attend college.

Others might need to work for several years before making such an important decision about the rest of their lives.

Our role as parents is to support our kids as they figure out where their path lies, and not fall into that trap of automatically pushing them towards university.

After all, even if your kid makes it through all of those hurdles of first year, less than 75% of them will still make it to the finish line and actually graduate.

Tagged with grades, financial, motivation, off, career, drop, goals, year, first, out | Comments (49) |