University dropout factors

Published: 22 June 2026| Version 1 | DOI: 10.17632/brfdj6c8my.1
Contributors:
Jose Sanchez-Santamaria,
,
,

Description

This dataset contains an anonymized database derived from a questionnaire on factors associated with university dropout. The file includes information from 2,183 cases and 31 variables, aimed at analyzing the personal, academic, and institutional conditions linked to the interruption or abandonment of university studies. - Funding: Spanish State Research Agency. Government of Spain. Reference: PID2020-114849RB-I00. - Ethics Committee: CEIBA2021-3079. - Project: Analysis of the explanatory factors of university dropout and strategic actions for its improvement and prevention. The database includes variables related to gender, university, field of knowledge, the year in which dropout occurred, enrolment in another degree program, and a set of 25 items on causes of university dropout. These items make it possible to analyze students’ perceptions of different factors that may have influenced their academic pathway and their decision to discontinue the studies they had started. The file has been prepared for public dissemination through the removal of direct identifying variables, timestamps, dates of birth, and open-ended responses. The deposited version does not contain free-text information or personally identifiable data. The identifier included in the file functions solely as a case code to facilitate the internal traceability of records during analysis. The dataset can be used for descriptive, comparative, and inferential analyses of university dropout, persistence, educational equity, university guidance, transition to higher education, and the improvement of institutional policies to support students. It may also be useful for university teaching, scientific replicability, and secondary analyses of risk factors associated with dropout in higher education. Users are advised to consult the codebook or the associated methodological documentation in order to correctly interpret the coding of the categorical variables and the items from CAUSAS_1 to CAUSAS_25.

Files

Steps to reproduce

Download the file `Datos cuestionario_Factores Abandono_anonimizados.sav` from the repository. Open the file in software compatible with SPSS files, such as IBM SPSS Statistics, R, Python, Jamovi, JASP, PSPP, or Stata, by importing the `.sav` file. Check the initial structure of the file: 2,183 cases and 31 variables. Review the main categorical variables: `GENERO`, `UNIVERSIDAD`, `RAMA`, `CURSO_ABANDONO`, and `ELIJE_OTRA`. Interpret the variables `CAUSAS_1` to `CAUSAS_25` as items related to causes of university dropout, according to the original questionnaire or the associated codebook. Conduct descriptive analyses of frequencies and percentages for the categorical variables. For the university dropout cause items, calculate descriptive statistics, response distributions, and, where appropriate, internal consistency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, or explanatory models. Before conducting inferential analyses, check the nature of the variables, their levels of measurement, response distributions, and statistical assumptions. In any reuse of the file, cite the dataset using the repository DOI and explicitly report any recoding, case exclusion, variable transformation, or derived analysis carried out.

Institutions

Categories

Pedagogy, Education, Higher Education, College Student, University Student, School Dropout, Student Success

Funders

Licence