The first-year experience in higher education in the UK: Final Report

This report details the findings from Phase 2 of the study of the first-year experience which focused on students who did not return in 2006-07 for the second year of full-time undergraduate study at their original institution.

Previous research (Yorke et al 1997) has shown that poor programme choice financial stress and aspects of the student experience are the three most commonly cited reasons for students’ non-completion of their courses. Since funding and top-up fees have changed the nature of HE this project aims to ascertain if the reasons cited have changed and also to explore further those aspects of the student experience which have an influence on retention.