Jumping the Hurdles – Undergraduate Student Withdrawal Behaviour

This paper explores undergraduate student withdrawal behaviour in the Business School of a new university. Particular attention is given to the complex interplay of forces – personal, institutional and contextual/external – which lead up to the decision by a student to leave or to stay. Using a qualitative methodology, a comparative study is made of the experience of students who have left, and of those who have experienced similar difficulties and doubts but chose to remain. Both groups of students experience difficulties of integration within the formal and social aspects of university life, and a problematic context. However the difference between leavers and doubters is found in levels of commitment to the university experience. Homesickness, levels of perceived control over events and alienation are also found to play a role in the decision to withdraw.