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Efforts to address attrition rates at universities have been driven by Tinto's (1975) model of student engagement with its focus on student: (a) pre entry attributes; (b) academic engagement; and (c) social engagement. Using an ethnographic approach, the study involves interviews with business students to explore the links between these aspects and departure intention. The results demonstrate that pre entry attributes were an important influence on student departure intention whereas a student's academic and social experiences were less influential. The analysis provides insights for educators and in particular business educators in the development of strategies to address various aspects of student engagement and attrition.
Introduction
The aim of this exploratory study is to investigate students' views about engagement and departure intention from university studies. Using aspects of Tinto's (1975) model of student engagement, including pre entry attributes, academic and social experiences, the study utilises interviews with a selection of first and second year business students to gain insights about the reasons why they contemplated departure from university. This qualitative approach involves discussion with students about their experiences and perceptions of engagement with university in contrast to the many studies that have used surveys of students' experiences about departure intention (e.g. Krause et al., 2005: Coates, 2010).
Higher education systems, particularly in the United Kingdom and Australia have recognised the importance of understanding, monitoring and addressing student departure, particularly in undergraduate years of study (Krause, 2005). The focus on student departure has in part been driven by national policy imperatives in each country, but also other factors that link closely with the quality of the student experience in an increasingly competitive higher education sector. Therefore, when a student departs university the costs for both parties are significant. For students there is the loss of earnings and career mobility (Baum et al., 2010) while for universities the costs can comprise the loss of tuition income, financial aid, and loss of staff (Gabb et al., 2006). Attrition1 therefore leads to a waste of tax-payer money and potential under-utilisation of society's human capital.
The challenges currently facing Australian universities such as decreased proportion of public funding, changes to migration policy and the removal of capped enrolments have made it more difficult to attract and retain students (Scott...