UK students were less likely to consider dropping out of their course in 2022 compared with the previous three years, in part because they had been given more flexibility owing to blended learning.
Twenty-three per cent of respondents to Advance HE’s UK Engagement Survey (UKES) say they had considered leaving university last year, down from 28 per cent in 2021.
At 22 per cent, those who report learning via a mix of in-person and virtual delivery were least likely to drop out. In contrast, 25 per cent of those learning mostly virtually and 24 per cent of mostly in-person learners had considered quitting.
The report’s author, Charlotte Holden, research and insights executive at Advance HE, wrote that this may be because blended learning students are “reaping the benefits of both approaches” and enjoying “greater flexibility to fit their learning around their personal lives, which may reduce the number of students who disengage and ultimately leave the course”.
