Rootless students

Language students do not feel a sense of belonging to their study programme, and lack information about what they can do with their education in the future.

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Survey regarding students dropping out

  • A qualitative survey from 2006 shows that two of five students at HF drop out within a year.
  • The survey dealing with information, follow-ups, supervision and social belonging suggests that in the case of the Language Programme, the number of students dropping out may be due to the fact that they do not feel a sense of belonging to their study programme.

A new qualitative survey carried out by the Language Programme at the Faculty of Humanities (HF) at the University of Oslo shows that students do not feel a sense of belonging to the study programme they have chosen. Language students are unable to find the information that they need, lack guidance concerning what their degrees can be used for, do not know how the faculty is put together, and do not have a sense of belonging to a class. At the same time, all those who took the survey stated that the social environment was integral to well-being. The result is that many drop out.

– The survey results largely concur with our own observations, says Gro Bjørnerud Mo, dean of studies at HF.

Two of five drop out

The background for the survey was a questionnaire from 2006 regarding students dropping out. The survey showed that two of five students at HF drop out after one year. At the time, the statistics were thought to be dramatic. In order to gain a more nuanced picture of what was behind these statistics, the faculty decided to carry out qualitative surveys. The new survey is a result of this.

– We have chosen to examine the language programme, as it is the largest study programme at HF. It also has the largest number of students dropping out, and we want to find out why this is, says Bjørnstad Mo.

300 students are admitted to the language programme each year, and 721 students in total are currently taking the bachelor’s degree.

Important factors

The survey has been carried out by students Lotte Vamnes Grinna, Cathrine Skandsen, Navnit Kaur Pahil and Odd Egil Solås as part of Project Forum at the Faculty of Social Sciences this spring.

– We have examined information, follow-ups, guidance and the sense of belonging to the programme, in order to find out what is important when a student chooses to leave a programme. The study shows that few students identify with the programme as a whole, but instead with the language that they have chosen, Skandsen explains.

– We have found that all three components are connected, Vamnes Grinna says

Cannot find information

The survey shows that students find it hard to find information.

– We see that many students struggle, especially in the early stages, to find the information that they need. The information is out there, but it can be too difficult to locate, Bjørnerud Mo says.

The report quotes one person who answered the survey: «I think that it has worked out as I have gone along, but in the beginning it was very difficult to understand how things worked; the website was complete chaos».

Not relevant enough to working life

The survey also shows that students want more information about how their education is relevant to working life.

– Yet here one also sees that many students do not partake in the career-related information meetings that are intended for them. This suggests that the measures are not reaching the students, Bjørnerud Mo says.

– Again, this is about information. A good example is that many students say that they would like to talk to someone regarding their competence, but they do not know where to turn in order to make this happen, Vamnes Grinna adds.

Measures already in place

The survey advises HF to clarify which parts of the study that the institute is responsible for, and which parts the programme is responsible for, so that the students will know where to turn.

– We are willing to listen to this advice, and we are already busy following it. The question is whether the bachelor programme is organized in the best way possible. Organizing these programmes are one of our main challenges. We have really been working on this in 2008, and will continue to do so in 2009, Bjørnerud Mo says.

– After the 2006 survey, you said that one of the measures that could lead to fewer students dropping out would be to give the study programmes a tighter structure. Does the new survey substantiate this?

– The study programme for students taking a bachelor’s degree in languages has already become more structured. We have not yet seen the final results of this. As I understand it, the new survey does not touch on this issue, Bjørnerud Mo states.

The students behind the survey think that HF has great challenges ahead, but that they are manageable.

– Our overall impression is that this is a problem that can be solved. All replicants stated that they were satisfied with the programme on an academic level, and this suggests that there is huge potential to be able to create a good language programme. The organization is the thing that is problematic, Vamnes Grinna concludes.

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