This study examined reasons for delays and drop-outs in graduation from bachelor's and master's degree programs in business information technology. Semi-structured interviews found that for master's students, the most common reasons were personal life situations/changes and difficulties combining work and studies. For bachelor's students, the top reasons included personal life situations/changes, changes in work situations, and lost interest or motivation. Students provided feedback on proposed tools to speed graduation, favoring easy access to school systems, clear course descriptions, and online lectures adopting good work practices. Improving guidance counseling and prior learning assessment, and allowing flexible learning strategies and learning at workplaces, were seen as ways to boost adult student graduation.

1. Enabling ICT based growth
WP3 Education
.
EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES TO BOOST ADULT
STUDENTS’ GRADUATION
-THE REASONS BEHIND THE DELAYS AND DROP-OUTS
OF GRADUATION
D.Sc. Päivi Aarreniemi-Jokipelto
HAAGA-HELIA School of Vocational Teacher Education
M.Sc. Asta Bäck,
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
11th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age,
CELDA 2014, Porto, Portugal

2. Growing need for adult education growing
Change
Competition New technologies
Work
Family
Hobbies

3. Frameworks for drop-outs and delays of
graduation
• A framework developed by (Jordan et al., 1994; Watt &
Roessingh, 1994) defines three factors for drop-outs; push,
pull, or fall out of an institution factors.
– Push-out factors, an institution is active and the factors
include poor academic performance and disciplinary
problems.
– Pull-out factors refer to out-of-institution factors like
work or family reasons, or illness.
– Fall out factor mean that a student does not show
significant academic progress and in a way a student
just disappears.

4. Objectives of the study
1. Why adult students studying either in the
bachelor’s or master’s degree programme in
business information technology at HAAGA-HELIA
University of Applied Sciences have
proceeded slowly in their studies or dropped
out.
2. What kind of tools and practices could be
helpful to students to get them to complete
their studies – students’ evaluations of ideated
solutions from their perspective, and students’
own ideas.

5. Research method
• Semi-structured telephone interviews
– Notes taken, duration in average 30 minutes
Back-ground
• Motivation for studies
• Life situation and changes in it
Studies
• Planning and guidance counselling
• Content and quality
Thesis
• Planning and carrying out the thesis
Reasons
• Delays
• Dropping out
New
ideas
• Feedback on proposed ideas
• Students’ own ideas

6. 38 students interviewed
Master’s: 60 + 30 credit points
Bachelor’s: 195 + 15 credit points
Average: Average:
55.4 credit points 160.2 credit points

7. Reasons for delays and drop-outs
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Personal life
situation and /or
changes in it
Combination of work
and studies did not
work
Changes in working
situation
Interest, motivation
ended
Career changes Problems related to
the theses
Group work based
learning
Master's degree students: Reasons for delays and drop-outs
Most important Second in importance Third in importance

8. Reasons for delays and drop-outs
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Bachelor's degree students: Reasons for delays and drop-outs
Most important Second important Third important Forth important

9. Evaluation of the ideated tools and practices

10. The best ideas
Communication tool for the student, workplace supervisor and
guidance counsellor at the university.
Contact app to help in easily reaching the guidance counsellor
e.g. chat, times to book for a meeting.
Pros
• Forcing parties to communicate
• Good, if helps in early detection of problems
Cons
• Adults do not need something like this
• Email is enough
• The tutor cannot be there in the evenings or weekends

11. The best ideas (cont’ed)
eLearning
• 42 % regarded as very beneficial,
22 % not beneficial
• ”The most central and critical courses need
to be face-to-face but the rest should be
offered as eLearning”
• Freedom of time and place

12. The controversial ideas
Mobile learning in small units
• 36 % for, 36 % against
Strong options of mobile learning
• I do not want to use a device all the time.
• Is smartphone a real tool for learning?
• To learn, I need to concentrate properly.
• Smartphone is good for checking facts.
Automatic notifications
• 30 % regarded as very beneficial, 31 % not beneficial
Cons
• Adults do not need a nanny
• Adults need to learn to manage their time

13. The worst ideas
Lightweight weekly reporting not favored
• Individual schedules and reporting
Stricter timetables
• Detrimental
Better books and handouts
• Electronic format preferred

14. Students’ suggestions
• Easy access to school information systems so that small
hurdles would not lead to quitting
• Clear course descriptions so that it is easy to
evaluate if the course topic and level are suitable
• Live online lectures – adopt good practises from
work life
• Personal messages from the guidance counsellor
to keep up motivation and to indicate that the
student has not been forgotten

15. Conclusions
Life situation and changes in it not as
central as assumed
Connecting the thesis to working life
caused delays
Heterogeneous students with very
diverging opinions on tools

16. Processes in which students requested guidance
Guidance
counselling
Thesis
Learning process
Prior competence
recognition
Alternative ways to study
Someone to be in touch
GRADUATION
Interaction between
a student and a
named guidence
counsellor

17. Speeding up the graduation
Prior competence
recognition
Learning at working
places
Online learning
Flexible learning
strategies
Knowledge,
skills and
competences

18. Conclusions
Päivi Aarreniemi-Jokipelto
Paivi.Aarreniemi-Jokipelto@haaga-helia.fi
Asta Bäck
Asta.Back@vtt.fi