A strategic action that contributes to the identification of the risk of dropout from the university

Abstract

The sectoral project “Strategy to Increase Retention in Engineering Programs in Cuba” aims, among other things, to identify the risk factors that motivate students to drop out of engineering programs. Six Cuban universities are participating in this project: the Camilo Cienfuegos University of Matanzas, the Jesús Montané Oropesa University of Isla de la Juventud, the Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz University of Camagüey, the University of Oriente, and the José A. Echeverría Technological University of Havana (CUJAE), which coordinates the project. To address this objective, the CUJAE working group conducted a study in the 2023 academic year on the factors that influenced academic attrition during the 2019-2020, 2021, and 2022 academic years. A questionnaire was designed and administered to a sample of Havana residents who had dropped out during those years. This questionnaire was administered in the students' places of residence by 13 currently enrolled students from the Center who had been previously trained. The objective of this article is to present the main results obtained from this application through a detailed analysis of each indicator, providing recommendations that will have a positive impact on university retention.