Dropout analysis of exact sciences students in a public institution in Yucatán, Mexico

Abstract

The objective of this research was to analyze the dropout factors in students in the field of exact sciences and mathematics at a public institution in the state of Yucatan. The study was non-experimental, quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive. The population consisted of 456 students who dropped out of their university studies between 2017 and 2022 of the six undergraduate programs that form the curriculum of a public institution of exact sciences in the state of Yucatán. The information analyzed was obtained through the dropout questionnaire used by the institution as part of the procedure to permanently withdraw from a degree program. The descriptive and inferential analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 23. Among the most outstanding findings, it is worth noting that most students dropped out voluntarily, likewise, the wrong career choice was the most cited reason for dropping out. A constant pattern is that most of the dropouts, both voluntary and administrative, occur during the first year of the analyzed programs. It was identified that the administrative dropouts were primarily due to students reaching the limit of five opportunities to pass a course, a pattern consistent throughout the analyzed years (2017-2022).