Juhani Rautopuro Reseacher Finnish Institute for Educational Research, Univesity of Jyväskylä

1. EDUCATIONAL EXCLUSION IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN FINLAND. A Risk of Drop-Out or a Voluntary Departure? Juhani Rautopuro Reseacher Finnish Institute for Educational Research, Univesity of Jyväskylä Vesa Korhonen Assistant professor School of Education, University of Tampere NETWORK 10: HIGHER EDUCATION, NERA 2011

2. Some background for the research • Massification (universalisation) of the universities • Doors open for more manifold and different aged students • Finland: massification in 1970’s (exceeding 15 % limit), nowadays universalisation (”an offer” for 85 %) • Bologna process (since 1999, Sorbonne) • Harmonisation in EU: uniform degree structures, the introduction of the dimensioning systems of studies and the European dimension of the quality assurance (The Ministry of Education and Culture, 2010) • Connection between education and requirements of working life tightened (London Communiqué 2007; Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve Communiqué 2009)

3. Consequences of massification and Bologna process • Staff: larger amount of students, splintered tasks, continuing pressure into ”outcomes” • Students: instrumental attitude to education • Higher education: In Finland, for example, the degree structure is mainly based on a dual system in accordance with the Bologna process (started at the autumn of 2005 in all Finnish universities and polytechnics).

4. Definitions • There are several concepts meaning giving up or interrupting/prolonging studies : • Drop-out or voluntary withdrawal from studies (opt-out) • student departure • non-continuing students • non-completion

5. Low engagement and integration to studies? • Engagement and/or integrationto studies have been examined with very many kinds of concepts and emphasis(see more Lähteenoja 2010). • Central is the force of academic and social integration and their interaction from the point of view of the student retention (Tinto 1996; Tinto & Goodsell-Love 1993) • Academic integration means matters which are related to the academic studying environment and to the scientific community like academic performance, academic skills and interest in the studying field. • Social integration means social relations in studying communities and personal contacts to academic and scientific communities

6. State of art in Finland • In Finland the discussion about the non-committed students is connected to the weak integration into the studies. Non-committed students are a clear risk group from the point of view of the delays and drop-outs in higher education (Mäkinen, Olkinuora & Lonka 2004; Litmanen, Hirsto & Lonka 2010). • Among Finnish university students non-committed orientation is quite common (an average 27 %). It appeared that easy entrance and opportunism were more typical motives for non-committed group of students than for study- or work-life oriented students. • The weakest commitment was found in humanities (34,4 %) and natural sciences (35,4 %). • The non-committed students considered the change in the study field or the withdrawal from the studies more often than the other students .

7. Some facts (Higher education in Finland) • Season 2007/2008: almost 40 000 students (7,5 %) interrupted their studies and about 6 % interrupted studies aiming to a degree totally (Statistics Finland, 2010) • Higher education: • in Finnish universities a little bit over 5 % (nearly 8000) students interrupted their studies for good.) • Nearly one out of hundred switched the sector of education • Students enrolled 2003 in Finnish universities (situation at the end of 2008): • about 2 % was with no degree and not continuing studies in any institute • about 4 % was in working life without a degree • about one out of 500 (0,2 %) was unemployed without a degree. • approximately 25 % completed Master’s degree

8. Data and analyses • Student register data • University of Helsinki • University of Jyväskylä • University of Tampere • Tampere University of Technology • Students studying according to Bologna • “tabula rasa” students • Mostly statistical analyses • descriptive statistics • description of associations

9. The way things are going…

10. This means that…. • In average • One out three will not get a master’s degree in defined time frame (7 years) • One out of six will not get even a bachelor degree

11. Let’s look a little bit closer (Tampere) • Statistically and practically significant association between study achievements and • Gender • female more likely to graduate (76 % vs. 66 %) • male more likely not to get even bachelor degree (30 % vs. 21 %) • Faculty • most obvious graduation in Faculties of Medicine (89 %) and Economics (71 %) • most unlikely (not even bachelor) in Faculties of Information technology (51 %) and Economics (26 % !!!) • Age (enrolment) • youngest (20 yrs and younger) most likely to graduate (79 %), students starting at the age group (25 – 30) most likely not to get even bachelor degree (46 %)

12. Let’s look a little bit closer (Tampere), cont. • Information given by logistic regression (odd ratios) • Risk of prolonging studies increases when enrolment age increases • There’s an interaction between gender and faculty for the risk of prolongin studies • Also interaction between faculty and enrolment age • Also interaction between faculty and duration of studies • Also interaction between enrolment age and duration of studies

13. Let’s look a little bit closer (Tampere), cont.(questionnaire, preliminary results)The “slow ones”

14. Let’s look a little bit closer (Tampere), cont.(questionnaire, preliminary results)The “slow ones” • More or less agreed • ”My motivation has dismished or flaged” (29 %) • ”I have had difficulties to adapt myself to requirements (planning and fulfilling) of university studies” (47 %) • ”I have felt harmful stress” (47 %) • Some obstacles in studies • Panic disorder • Social fobia • Seasonal depression • Returning from a lonf sick leave • Pregnancy

15. Let’s look a little bit closer (Tampere), cont. • About one out of three of the ”slow ones” (not even bachelor) were not in student register after one year • Statistically significant difference between male and female (36 % vs. 24 %) • Statistically significant difference between faculties (range: 40 % in ICT, 8 % in medicine) • No statistically significant differences between departure and age groups (enrolment)

16. Final conclusions • The special worry is the generality of weak engagement to studies and completion of studies on normative schedule • The examination brings out the generality of the weak engagement to studies also after the Bologna reformations (compare non-committed students in Mäkinen et. al 2004) • Approximately 1/3 of students will not complete their studies in 7 years time frame • The connections of the slow progress of studies to the interrupting risks have not been widely studied earlier • Our observations give clear references from the fact that the slow start in studies anticipates delays and risks for the interrupting of studies • From institutions perspective, all this may assume a better self-understanding of organisational arrangements and a deliberate review of the risks of exclusion (delays, drop-outs) and how to overcome these (with repair or preventive work)? (Korhonen 2011)