Social class linked to university drop-out rates

Social class linked to university drop-out rates

Universities that take the highest percentages of working-class students also have the highest drop-out rates, according to research by the higher-education funding councils. Cambridge and Oxford have the highest projected drop-out rate,at 1 and 2 per cent respectively. These universities also register the smallest proportion of working-class students, at 9 per cent. At the opposite end of the table, 41 per cent of students at the University of North London are expected to leave before completing their courses. Exactly the same percentage come from working-class families, defined as those with parents in skilled manual,semi-skilled or unskilled jobs. One possible explanation is that students from poorer backgrounds often find university life more of a struggle because of lack of financial support from their parents. Some of these students must balance paid work with study during term time.

Two former polytechnics, Oxford Brookes and the University of the West of England, have relatively low numbers of students from working-class backgrounds,but relatively high forecast drop-out rates. Both institutions accept lower A-level scores than many traditional universities. This is another factor that has been linked to high drop-out rates.