A COHORT STUDY ON UNED STUDENTS: AN APPROXIMATION TO DROP-OUT ANALYISIS

Abstract

Drop-out is one of the main threats to distance education, particularly if compared with face-toface universities. However, drop-out analysis in distance education has often followed the same procedures as in face-to-face institutions. The most common drop-out definition establishes that students have abandoned the institution when they do not register for a subsequent school year; that is, the immediate rupture of the relationship with the institution is considered drop-out. However, such a approximation does not fit with the time patterns common in distance education, which involve longer term relationships and more openness to disruptures related to the students’ needs (family, work, etc.). This paper examines the long term evolution of drop-out in distance education.