Abstract:
The purpose of this research is to evaluate the mobility of undergraduate students, with regard to the attrition rate in undergraduate programs of the State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC). This is an exploratory research, with a quantitative approach, characterized as an evaluation research, restricted to 25 on-site undergraduate programs, with graduating seniors covering the years 2008-2010. The data collection was limited to the literature for contextualization and identification of possible causes of attrition, and to the academic records of the students who entered the UDESC programs through the university´s entrance exam. Aligned with the national policy of higher education attrition research, the formula used to calculate the rates of attrition analyses the number of graduating seniors in relation to the number of students who initially enrolled in a specific class, considering the time needed to cover the program (Public Notice MEC/SESU nº 08/2007-REUNI). The results indicate that, during the analyzed period, the lowest attrition rates were amongst the Health Sciences (19,6%) and the highest rates were in the Exact and Earth Sciences (58,6%), the Engineering Program (41,0%) and Linguistics, Literature and Arts Programs (45,9%). The average attrition rate in all 25 analyzed programs was 38,2%
Key words:
Higher education; Attrition; Undergraduate programs; Academic information
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