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Dropout, lag in the completion of studies, and graduation. Analysis of the evolution of a cohort of students enrolled in the Ecuadorian distance study system.

Abstract:

The analysis of the specialized literature has suggested that the advancement of students in the university is influenced by multiple elements. This article seeks to determine these factors, analyze their interaction and extract relevant information that may be useful for institutions to make decisions based on the real behavior of students. To the cohort April-August of 2011 conformed by 4,637 students of the system of distance studies of degree of the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, was followed up the number of enrollments that they had in 14 consecutive semesters, determining the state (dropout, assets with delay, and graduation) in which they were at the end of the planning time of the academic program. To analyze the survival of the cohort, a multinomial logistic regression was used that allowed to measure, through certain personal and academic characteristics, the relative risks of being active or graduating versus leaving early. At the end, it was found that personal factors such as age and sex, and academics such as the years of career planning and the academic area, influence the disintegration of student cohorts.