ABSTRACT

Quality assurance in higher education often emphasises the importance of lowering student attrition. The first year of study is a crucial period for mitigating risks of attrition as this is the time when students develop a sense of belonging, and academic and personal connections. This study explores the long-term effects of the first-year student experience on attrition during their four years of study using two longitudinal datasets from a highly selective Russian university. First-year student data from the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) survey for two cohorts of students with graduation data four years later were combined to identify factors that increase attrition. Student disengagement and lower academic aspirations during the first year of study are associated with student attrition in both cohorts. Policy implications of the findings for Russia and post-communist higher education systems with attrition linked to academic performance are discussed.

摘要

高等教育质量保证通常强调降低学生流失的重要性。学习的第一年是缓解磨损风险的关键时期，因为这是学生发展归属感以及学术和人际关系的时候。这项研究使用来自高度选择的俄罗斯大学的两个纵向数据集，探讨了一年级学生经验对他们四年学习期间的损耗的长期影响。来自研究大学学生体验（SERU）调查的第一年的学生数据，对四年后获得毕业数据的两个队列的学生进行了合并，以确定增加损耗的因素。在第一年的学习中，学生的退学和较低的学业抱负与这两个队列中的学生流失有关。