Communications of the ACM
Study Tracks Attrition Rates For STEM Majors
Credit: Wyman
About 50 percent of bachelor's degree candidates in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) exit the field without completing a college degree, according to a report from the U.S. Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics. Using data tracking students enrolling in a bachelor's or associate degree program in the 2003-2004 academic year through 2009, the study found that approximately 28 percent of bachelor's degree candidates and 20 percent of associate degree candidates had declared a STEM major. Of those who had entered a STEM program, 48 percent of bachelor's degree candidates had departed the STEM field by spring 2009. Meanwhile, 69 percent of associate degree candidates had left the STEM field during the course of the study.
An October 2012 report uncovered an identical attrition rate for STEM entrants who had entered post-secondary education in the 2003-2004 academic year. The highest attrition rate was for bachelor's degree candidates declaring a major in computer/information sciences, and for associate degree candidates who declared a math major. The study also found that more men than women exited the STEM fields by dropping out while more women than men left STEM disciplines by switching majors. In addition, the STEM attrition rate was roughly equal to the rate at which students in non-STEM fields switched majors or dropped out.
From Inside Higher Ed
View Full Article
Abstracts Copyright © 2013 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
No entries found