The Cultural Qualities YOU must Acquire to Succeed in Higher Education

By Elizabeth Paradiso Urassa

The Cultural Qualities YOU must Acquire to Succeed in Higher Education is a unique book that can support higher education stakeholders in many ways. The book is meant to help students understand the cultural aspects required of them in the learning community. Although the book is for all higher education stakeholders (including parents, governments, institutions, and financial sponsors), students and advisors may find it supportive than others. It consists of some evidence that higher education student attrition has increased due to, among others, isolation, and failure to acquire and cope with the contextual culture. The book informs the scholarly findings of student attrition and how researchers think the challenge can be reduced. However, the author insists on students’ understanding of the culture operating in the host institution and the community as a primary solution. Elizabeth believes that students’ integration is the key to their success and that understanding the culture is a catalyst. The book demonstrates the functionalities of culture to individuals and informs the differences between feeble and robust culture. The author emphasizes that students must obtain support from the host institution and the society to be integrated and be part of the community. Elizabeth provides the cultural model that institutions, learning agencies, and students worldwide can utilize to succeed with culture.

The main aspects of culture discussed in the model are those related to relationship (greeting culture, dress code, parties, and invitations), academic practices (communication in presentation, group discussions, critics, reading and writing), and societal values (special occasions, peoples’ positions, and expectations). The author points out many situations and aspects that may lead to student attrition and strategies to avoid them. Elizabeth urges higher education stakeholders to observe the cultural model, expand to cater to the local needs, and provide her with feedback. Reading this book and mastering the practice proposed may empower students to study anywhere and with anybody worldwide.

Information is Power- Receive it by reading the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664144217

Elizabeth Paradiso Urassa

Elizabeth is a president of non-profit organisation “Information is Power,” a teacher, an advisor, an activist, and a writer of other bestselling books; The Cultural Qualities You Must Acquire to Succeed in Higher Education, The Principles That Facilitate Successful and Timely Degree Completion and Integrering Er Informasjon. Her books deliver diverse practical information that has helped people change their perceptions and practices in academic and non-academic contexts. She has also written other books, Articulating Research Students’ Expectations of a Competent Supervisor and The Skills Required of Research Students in Academic Supervision, which will be released soon. Elizabeth aims at supporting higher education stakeholders with information, as she believes reliable, relevant, and timely information is the power to support people. Besides, higher education student attrition is a challenging problem that requires collective supportive strategies such as those written in Elizabeth’s books. The books are vital for all higher education stakeholders, including students, supervisors, advisors, parents, donor agencies, governments, and policymakers. Indeed, information is power for all, including you.

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Copyright © 2021 by Elizabeth Paradiso Urassa. 822976

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a professional non-fiction work. All the information is well scrutinized and comes from the author and other people’s experiences. The names of the participants are not real as they want to remain anonymous. The stories are real and have been modified without distorting the message. Any resemblance of names to any actual persons, living or dead, and events or location is entirely coincidental.

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Rev. date: 12/21/2020

CONTENTS

Abbreviations

List of Figures

List of tables

Definition of Terms

Acknowledgment

Background Information

Chapter 1

Students Attrition Statistics

Some Documented Reasons for Students Attrition

Some Signs that Student may Drop Out

Most Affected Groups

Chapter 2

Scholarly Discussion on Student Attrition

Higher Education Learning Culture

Globalization and Cultural Differences

The Influence of Culture in Higher Education

Chapter 3

Obstacles to Observe

Questions students must apply

Cultural Consideration

The Universal Scale for Culture

Chapter 4

Hidden Cultural Practices

Culture Learning as a Process

The Group Most Affected by Cultural Change

A Culture Shock Experience

Strategies to Understand new Cultures

Chapter 5

Theorizing Cultural Phenomenon

Culture Generalization

The Main Function of Culture

Powerful and Weak Culture

The Purpose of the Book

Chapter 6

Relational Cultural Aspects

Disadvantages of Incorrect Greetings

A Greeting Episode

The Benefit of Greeting People Appropriately

Misconceptions in Greeting Culture

The Smiling Tradition

Some Supportive Questions

The benefits of smiling

The Magic of a Smile

Challenges Associated with Smiling

A Word of Caution

Chapter 7

Dress Code Culture

Professional Dressing

Dressing Controversies

Special Dress Code

Appropriate Dressing

Parties and Ceremonies

Cost Sharing in Parties and Ceremonies

Advantages of Cost Sharing

Challenges Associated with Parties

Chapter 8

Academic Cultural Aspects

Communication Culture

The Art of Presentation

Factors to Observe in Presentation

Challenges in Presentation

Group Discussions Culture

Challenges in Group Discussion

Language, as a Tool for Group Discussion

Cultural Differences in Group Discussions

The Benefits of Group Discussion

Chapter 9

The Culture of Critics in Learning

Some Common Rules for Criticism

Direct Critics Behavior

Indirect Critics Behavior

Adaptation Required

Separating People and Ideas

Caution About Critics

Chapter 10

The Culture of Reading and Writing

Some Reading Strategies

Questions that Provide Guidance

The Culture of Writing

Rules to Observe in Writing Culture

A Word of Caution

Chapter 11

Societal Cultural Aspects

Special Occasions Traditions

Chapter 12

Observe Peoples’ positions

Politicians Influences

Handling Leaders Strategically

Techniques to deal with Leaders

Why Information About Leaders

Chapter 13

Learning Expectations Culture

Students Subordination Culture

Students Partnership Culture

The Convergence of Subordination and Partnership

The Challenges Associated with Learning Expectations

Knowledge and Skills Expectations

The Educational Title Expectation

Conclusion

The Participants

References

ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. The Seven Aspects Facilitate Student Attrition

Figure 2. Reasons for Student Attrition and The Groups Most Affected

Figure 3. The Scholarly Measures to Reduce Student Attrition

Figure 4, The Major Twelve Aspects that Influence Culture

Figure 5. The Hindrance to Learning New Cultures

Figure 6. Cultural Aspects to Observe

Figure 7. The Major Steps for Cultural Learning

Figure 8. Some Strategies for Cultural Understanding

Figure 9. Some Foundations, Nature, and Aspects of Culture

Figure 10. Some Global Culture Functionalities

Figure 11. Cultural Model for Higher Education Students

Figure 12. The Inaccurate Message Greetings Convey

Figure 13. The Effect of Incorrect Greeting Habit

Figure 14. The Benefits of Appropriate Greeting

Figure 15. The Multiple Functions of a Smile

Figure 16. The Summary of Challenges in Group Discussions

Figure 17. The Overall Main Aspects of Group Discussion

Figure 18. The Main Issue to Observe When Criticizing

Figure 19. Steps to Follow When Dealing with Ideas

Figure 20. The Simple Rules of Writing

Figure 21. Aspects that Influence the Role of Religious Leaders

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Different Between Powerful and Weak Culture

Table 2. The function of a smile, I see you, and I care for you.

Table 3. The Task for Presenter and Listeners

Table 4. An Example of a Reading Summary Model

Table 5. The Nature of Students’ Subordination VS Partnership

DEFINITION OF TERMS

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This book is for all higher education stakeholders. The main targeted groups are students, advisors, and supervisors who are tirelessly working to ensure the societies acquire qualified skilled manpower.

Sincere appreciation goes to the participants who shared their cultural experiences and allowed me to write their experiences in this book. Thank you for your generosity and commitment to this project. Without your support and participation, I could probably not write this book or even widen my knowledge on the subject.

I thank my children for their daily encouragement and adjustment to my writing schedule. I appreciate your support and sacrifices positively, and I never take for granted to be your mother. I wish you light, life, and love all days of your lives.

I would like to thank the publisher Xlibris, for supporting me with the design and publishing. I appreciate the work and the professional assistance you have provided to make the book readable and accessible worldwide. Thank you.

Finally, I thank all my readers for reading this book out of many that are online and on bookshelves. I promise that this book’s information can change higher education students’ perspectives and experiences if practiced. Besides, the knowledge may support opening many relational, academic, and career opportunities to anybody. Whether you are a student, parent, advisor, or supervisor, you will learn something from this book. Do not shy to share the knowledge with others because the more people acquire cultural knowledge, the less the misunderstanding and the higher the number of productive and successful students and graduates.

Thank you

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are known for nurturing and producing competent, skilled labor. The success of this significant task depends on students' retention and completion of their degrees. However, literature has informed us of the challenges most institutions encounter associated with student attrition. The student attrition affects higher education (HE) stakeholders severely even though the primary aim of the HE is to nurture and produce skilled labor. Higher education institutions function can be successful only and only if the students graduate and acquire knowledge and skills required in the job market. All society that desire to develop requires competent workforce who can solve problem scientifically and effectively. The most affected HE stakeholders when students drop from universities are the students in question, institutions, parents, government, and the funding agencies. Others are employers and societies that mainly depend on skilled labor for their existence and development.

The causes of attrition vary from a student to others, an institution to another, and from society to others. Students’ attrition is a challenge that has received attention from several scholars such as Ali, Kohun, & Levy (2007), Maher & Macallister (2013), Tinto (1987). These researchers have written about the problem and some of the causes and solutions to the challenge. However, scholars’ common student attrition causes are in three categories; the perception students have about themselves, their understanding of their learning agencies, and their experience with the learning environment. The major challenge is within the students’ feelings about themselves, and their experiences with learning agencies that have become a stumbling block. Unfortunately, some HE students commence their studies without information about the culture, structure, and practices. The lack of knowledge about higher education learning, wrong perception about themselves, and failure to manage the interaction with learning agencies become overwhelming and hence drop out. Likewise, there is an absence of cultural advisors to guide students on cultural issues. Most students commence higher education with old thoughts from the previous culture with little or without knowledge about the current cultural practice.

Attention is required to reduce and even eradicate the problem by supporting students to change their perceptions and acquire new thoughts to help them be successful and productive. Most students’ current illusive discernment about HE learning environment have brought several cultural challenges. Their previously acquired cultural practices mainly influence students’ insights and influence how they perceive the new learning context. The previous culture may differ from the new one and sometimes may hinder their ability to cope with the current learning situation. For example, the current the HE learning cultures may differ from some previous culture students had experienced. Cultural differences can also exist in departments and disciplines (science, humanities, and arts) even within the same region and institution. Some students who withdrew from HE perceived their cultural failure soon after enrolment before the formative and summative academic evaluations. Some students experienced difficulties coping with the weather in the learning community and the learning agencies.

There are many challenges students encounter in HEIs, that lead to attrition. This crisis has no respect for students, institutions, nations, or continent, neither the type of HE, learning structure (online or physical settings), style (collaboration or individual), and practices. Scholars, Beer & Lawson (2018) have researched this problem to determine the reasons for student attrition. They also desired to find a solution to the problem through different research projects where students and other learning agencies participated. Indeed, students and their teachers are the main actors in finding a solution to the problem. For this reason, they have informed about the magnitude of the problem and some of the causalities.

For example, some students who failed to attain their degrees have been useful for researchers in finding a solution to the dilemma. They have informed the challenges they encountered and how they were unable to continue with their studies. Those who have succeeded in attaining their degrees have provided their experiences as a lesson to support others. These people (the dropouts and the graduates) are the vital source of information that can support researchers and other higher education stakeholders to understand the cause of the problem and obtain possible solutions. As well, this book reports diverse conversations with various HE students, graduates, and learning agencies. It also consists of information from scholarly literature, including the discussion about higher education learning and supervision in general. The material, if considered, may be useful in reducing student attrition worldwide.

NOTE; Because the book is taking the advisor’s role, the information is a conversation between the writer and the readers. So, the personal pronoun such as I and you are often applied.

CHAPTER 1

STUDENTS ATTRITION STATISTICS

There are diverse findings that demonstrate the seriousness and scope of the student attrition problem mathematically. Researchers have revealed some reasons for student attrition and shown that not all students are affected equally. Some groups are most affected compared to others, and there are different reasons for such variations. The researchers have also indicated possible measures to reduce student attrition in HE. Scholars such as Beer & Lawson (2018), Lovitts & Nelson (2000), Maher & Macallister (2013), O'Keeffe (2013), Ryan & Greig (2017), and Tinto (1987) have discussed the attrition challenge and provided different perspectives. Some scholars have given names to the problem, and some perceive student attrition as a wicked problem (Beer and Lawson, 2018) and a scandal (Gardner, 2009). Others who have baptized student attrition are Fisher and Engemann (2000), who call the problem the most persistent and intractable. These comments indicate the acknowledgment of the problem and the scholars’ involvement.

According to Maher and Macallister (2013), in Australia, the Department of Education and Training, back in 2004, reported undergraduate attrition rates of 21.2% and 18.0% for domestic and international students, respectively. As well, Gabb, Milne, and Cao (2006) reported attrition in one of the universities in Australia in the period 1994-2003 to be at 25%. Similarly, O’Keeffe’s (2013) study showed, HE, student attrition rates reached 20% in Australian universities. In Canada, Fisher and Engemann (2009) reported that 43% of student attrition in Ontario’s colleges between 1998-2003. Whirls in the Netherlands, Meeuwisse, Severiens, and Born (2010) said the HE student withdrawal rate was 20% to 10% for vocational and university education, respectively.

A similar problem has been spotted in other parts of the world as well. For instance, in the USA, the same problem faces many institutions. Fisher and Engemann (2009) informed that in North America, the student attrition was between 30-40%. Similarly, Golde (2000, 2005) discussed the issue in-depth and argued that at least 40% of Ph.D. students withdraw from their studies. He also indicated some studies that estimated the attrition of doctoral students’ rate to be between 40-50%, where the undergraduate attrition rate was 10-20% at selective institutions. Also, pointing out mainly the Ph. D. students, O’Keeffe (2013) indicated that the attrition was between 30 and 50 % in the US. In another study, Mayo, Helms, and Codjoe (2004) learned that the retention rate in the University System of Georgia in 2011 was 59.8%, the information aligns with what other scholars informed about other universities.

In the UK, Johnes and McNabb (2004) reported that student attrition is also a persisting challenge in most HEIs. The rate of student attrition raised from about 13-16% in the late 1970s and early 1980s to 19-25% in the 1990s. The scholars informed that student attrition might increase in the absence of severe measures to deal with the problem. According to Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) (2005) annual report and accounts in the UK, 19 % of Ph.D. part-time students and 57% of full-time students complete their studies within five years. While 71% of full-time and 34% part-time tend to complete their tasks within seven years. Likewise, Johnston (2008) revealed that the University of Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Manchester, and Ulster had 22.0%, 8.6%, 11.0%, 8.6%, and 22.0% attrition rate respectively in the period 2003-2004. Kettell (2018), when discussing young adult carer¹ applying the work of Sempik and Becker (2013, 2014), informed that 29% of young adult students dropped out of their HE studies. It is not the intention of this book to provide details of each country, institution, and continent about student attrition statistics but to discuss cultural issues and support students to observe, evaluate, learn and practice appropriate culture. For instance, one can acquire more information about UK student attrition by reviewing other publications. A student may need to search for such information if he is interested in statistics or descriptive cause of student attrition. The knowledge can be helpful for students to attain their goals while integrating into the learning society. Indeed, most HE students may have dropped out of their studies due to, among others, failure to adjust to the cultural changes.

Some Documented Reasons for Students Attrition

Scholars have dealt with finding the causes of HE, student attrition. For example, McMillan (2005) asserted that students' employment is the primary cause of graduation deterioration. The scholar pointed out that students who work more than 10 hours per week had a higher risk of dropping out of HE studies, especially for Ph.D. students. Other factors are those associated with students' sociodemographic traits, previous academic achievement, and expectations. Likewise, Al Ghanboosi (2013) mentioned social and educational factors as the major causes of the attrition problem. Other studies conducted by Devos et al. (2017), Golde (2000, 2005); Kiley (2011), Tinto (1987) exhibited the attrition reasons to be the negative feelings of students' perception of themselves and their academic progression.

There are several scholarly information concerning the causes of student attrition. One of the reasons mentioned by Golde (2000) was the lack of support from their supervisors and other learning agencies. The absence of assistance from learning agencies affects students mentally (intellectual), academically, and psychologically (emotional). For example, students with no adequate academic and social support tend to have little or no good connection with learning agencies. The situation may lead to isolation, and sometimes such students find it challenging to integrate, especially in the first year of their studies. The absence of academic and social support is among the dilemmas students in HE encounters in their learning environments.

Golde pointed out students' mismatch with their supervisors as another challenge, which was among the significant reasons for their retention malfunction. He added that the attrition problem is costly, especially to three primary stakeholders: students, supervisors, and the institutions. The scholar mentioned that the costs associated with student attrition are in three dimensions: social, emotional, and economical. Socially when students fail to associate with others, they may experience anxiety and depression. Social isolation can limit students to learn from others and maybe a catalyst for the student attrition problem. Social encounters are connected to emotional issues such as feelings and perceptions and can raise several questions without answers, worries without comfort, and trials without direction.

Apart from Golde's findings, Ali and Kohun (2007) identify social loneliness as the direct causality for most Ph.D. student attrition in humanity. These scholars indicated further that students who could not cope with new HE independent learning cultures were the most affected group. The researchers extended their statistics to students who had the perception of not been supported by their learning agencies, especially their academic supervisors. Other students withdrew due to their feeling of being different from the rest of the learning community. This feeling of uniqueness sometimes is due to the lack of the cultural aspects that could create their bond to the institution, department, discipline, and the learning community.

The integration of students in the learning community is paramount. Lack of integration has many disadvantages for all stakeholders. For example, through the web page Global view on tertiary education (read 2019), Salmi described 14 common mistakes that may contribute to student attrition. The scholar explained that these lapses might result in HEIs, attempting to form a world-class university. He was of concern that although students enroll in foreign universities, most do not receive proper integration guidance. The researcher believed that integration strategies must be the focus to support students to settle and be productive. Salmi added that students' negative experiences could result in diverse damages for students, institutions, and the country in question. The information aligns with what some students informed of their experiences abroad of discrimination and isolation. Indeed, some international students encounter social problems that affect their academics in many universities, even the highest-ranking ones.

Many reasons cause students to drop from HE, that no available literature has captured them all. This book is not exceptional and will not provide all the reasons for attrition. Simultaneously, some of the reasons mentioned in this book can differ from other reasons cited by scholars and most readers' experiences. The problem is complicated with diverse causes. That is why Beer and Lawson (2018) called student attrition a wicked problem. A wicked is something with different forms and may be intangible because of its spiritual nature. Yes, one can think that student attrition is evil due to its extensive killing nature. When students drop, it causes the loss of resources that could be utilized otherwise by the stakeholders. Student withdraws sometimes lead to loss, not only of resources but of his position and is fatal for the degree. Beer and Lawson recommended that this challenge's wickedness requires attention from diverse sources and actors not only from the learning institutions but beyond. The most vital measures to fight against student attrition is to care for students' academic and social well-being and facilitate their integration. The scholars remind HE stakeholders that students must feel valued, accepted, and must have equal access to diverse learning supporting agencies, and be part of the learning community.

One more challenge observed in students' integration is HE leadership. Beer and Lawson (2018) added that the difficulties associated with bureaucratic leadership, which dominate most formal education institutions worldwide, can delay finding solutions to diverse students’ problems. This kind of leadership often prefers strategic communication accompanied by policy formulation and projects that sometimes do not involve the implementers. The distance between the policymakers and implementors may delay implementing policies. For example, the policy of inclusion in students’ enrolment in HE may be due to the desire to implement the internationalization policy formulated by politicians. The implementers of the policy are students and teachers who, at the same time, have little influence on the change of the policy. The literature has informed us of the challenges caused by HE's massification that cannot be solved by policy implementers. As a result, it has caused stressful learning environments, and that most students have no time to learn and master the cultural issues. The policy is in question whether it favors student attrition or bring students closer to the learning community.

Further issue that brings a challenge for student learning is the policy of timely completion of a degree. Some scholars such as Aina (2015), DesJardins, Ahlburg & McCall (2002), Ndayambaje (2018), Shariff, Ramli & Ahmad (2014), and Suhre, Jansen, & Torenbeek (2013) have demonstrated their doubt concerning the policy and related it with the increase student attrition. Therefore, HE leadership ought to re-examine the issue and formulate policies and projects that can accelerate students' learning goals. Indeed, several factors lead to student attrition; some are within the culture that operates in the learning environment; others come from student social, economic, and academic situations. There are also factors caused by external factors that students, supervisors, and institutions cannot influence. The diversity of attrition causes creates difficulties in recognizing the scope of the problem for each student.

SOME SIGNS THAT STUDENT MAY DROP OUT

There are several indicators to observe that may predict students' learning progress and outcomes. These signs can help teachers and other supporting agencies watch to provide appropriate guidance to students. According to Rens van, Mara, Jolien, and Sonneveld (2013), there are some signs that most students tend to express before the actual drop out. The first sign they pointed out was students' delay and postponement of submitting assignments and examinations. Most research students who suspend acquiescing their academic work tend to have a high risk of dropping out than the opposite. The behavior may also indicate that the students have some challenges academically, physically, or socially. It may be that the students have physical, mental, or psychological problems and that performing their learning duties become difficult. Such signs can be an alarm that can support the supervisors in paying close attention and discussing their concerns with the students.

Another sign is that students may avoid their teachers and other learning agencies. Although some learning agencies are happy to support students, they may fail to do so if students are unwilling to receive assistance. Students who do not feel comfortable in their learning and intend to withdraw tend they shy from the supporting agencies. Some may even avoid discussing their assignments publicly or with peers, which creates difficulties for the supervisors to understand students’ learning progress. Lack of showing off and openness to the others about the learning challenges and success may create a false image of students learning progress.

Most of the time, students who are not confident in their learning tend to decline behind others. The hiding behind others, creating challenges for the learning agencies to support the students. They may listen to other students’ contributions and present different excuses for not discussing their assignments. When all the reasons collapse, the students in this category tend to isolate themselves from peers and other learning agencies. The situation may lead the peers to leave such students aside and undermine their challenges. The students feeling of not being important and needed may accelerate their isolation. The condition can make the students more and more invisible, and when they reach complete loneliness, and if there is no intervention, the next step is to drop out of the studies.

Others delay or postpone the submission of their assignments. Rens van, Mara, Jolien, and Sonneveld (2013) mentioned some factors that facilitate the adjournment of the students’ requests for their academic tasks, such as continuous change of research topics. Students who lack the passion for a specific area and who have challenges choosing the career path experience uncertainty in selecting the research topic. Some students find it challenging to choose one location to focus their attention, and that even the literature review becomes a challenge. Such students waste the most valuable time, especially at the beginning of their studies, wandering around the literature without observing a specific knowledge gap. Something the situation may result from delaying the submission of assignments and postponement. When the students cannot postpone any more, they may have no option other than to drop out.

Several reasons for student dropouts are in the literature; as mentioned, there are thousands of reasons for this problem. Gardner (2009), in her writing about student attrition in the USA, pointed out some research that can provide comprehensive information on the topic. I would like to include the mentioned student attrition information in this book. At the end of page 2-3, Gardner asserted; The existing literature that examines the causes and consequences of doctoral student attrition falls into several main categories. For further reading, according to Gardner’s writing, if one is interested in understanding the relationships between students’ dropout and funding can consult Bowen and Rudenstine (1992), Ethington and Pisani (1993), Nettles and Millett (2006).

Similarly, those who desire to examine attrition and advisor relationships can consult researchers such as Clark and Corcoran (1986), Lovitts (2001), Nettles and Millett (2006). The student attrition and gender have also obtained courtesy from scholars who indicated women as a vulnerable group compared to men who have a scholarship (Berg and Ferber 1983, Herzig 2004, Maher et al. 2004). Another investigation about student attrition and race has indicated the difference in white, black, and other races. The issue has been dealt with by Ellis (2001), Herzig (2004), Margolis & Romero (1998). The investigation on the topic examines students’ attrition in particular disciplines such as humanities, science, and arts by Bowen & Rudenstine (1992), Nettles & Millett (2006) is also among the significant findings on the topic.

Likewise, information about attrition and qualitative previous students’ performance, such as test scores and GPA, indicate variations in deterioration of students’ graduation as conducted by Nettles and Millett (2006). The relationship between student attrition and their socialization experiences has obtained the attention of Gardner (2007), Golde (1998), Gonzalez (2006), as reported by Gardner (2009). Moreover, Grant (2005, 2008) informed students’ supervision variations where some students obtain full support while others do not. The differences in service provided by the supervisors to students can also lead to unpleasant students’ perceptions of learning. Therefore, reading the mentioned literature can increase the understanding of the student attrition problem’s depth and proposed solutions.

FIGURE%201.jpg

Figure 1. The Seven Aspects Facilitate Student Attrition

Figure 1 summarises factors that may cause student attrition, as observed by scholars. The first is issues related to racial differences and students’ social and personal factors. Others are discipline-related issues, including students’ previous performances. Moreover, gender-related aspects where male with financial problem had a high risk of dropping out of their studies compared to female students. Another factor which acceleretes student attrition is students’ relationship with their learning agencies. Finally, finance availability and accessibility may facilitate or hinder students from accomplishing their learning goals.

Most Affected Groups

Some scholars, Maher and Macallister (2013), O'keeffe (2013), McMillan (2005), have expressed their concern and provided details of the groups most affected by attrition. The scholars pointed out that the most affected group are first-year students, the first generation to join university from their family, and those with mental and other health problems. Others are non-traditional degree students (some careers have recently introduced degree courses) and those with socioeconomic challenges. Students from minority ethnicities and students who have issues with their learning agencies, including their supervisors, are at a high risk of withdrawing. The scholars mentioned students who had no feelings of being included and belonging in the academic and community learning environment as another group in a risky situation. They also found that students working many hours while undertaking a degree have a high risk of burning out and withdrawing. These were the major groups of students that the scholarly literature mentioned as risk subjects for attrition.

The clear division of roles is a supportive measure which most academics proposed. Understanding the role of teachers and students can provide an insight into