Why student attrition and how to retain students? A case study of NorthTec

Angie Dang & Sue Vaughan

http://doi.org/10.34074/sitj.17105

Abstract

This paper examines student attrition using findings from the NorthTec Attrition Study (NTAS) 2023-2024. It adopted Rovai's (2003) Composite Persistence Model (CPM) to guide the analysis of influencing factors. It confirms the influence of student characteristics, study skills and multiple external factors and their complex interactions. NorthTec’s retention efforts and ways for improvement are identified and discussed. The paper contributes to the literature and can be useful for education providers in similar settings.

Keywords: student attrition; student retention; tertiary education; NorthTec; Rovai