Research Result

Dropouts after the first semester
In the spring semester in 2010, student files containing contact information were created for the new recruits of the English programmes at the 14 observation sites. The number of students totaled 2,237. In the autumn semester in 2010, the researchers found that, based on the consensus definition of dropout, 204 students dropped out after the first semester, representing 9.1% of the total.

No unified definition has been given for ODL dropouts up till now. Generally speaking, dropout refers to abandoning a certain course or a certain educational programme. It is also called "student drain" or "sediment" in China, and sometimes figuratively described as dormancy, because the valid period for ODL is 8 years, and students’ discontinuation of their studies anytime during this period is similar to hibernation in the biological world or dormant volcanoes. The research partners discussed and agreed that dropouts in this study refer to those who enrolled in the spring semester of 2010, and by the autumn semester of 2010 changed their programmes or transferred to another school, applied to suspend or discontinue their schooling, registered but did not take any courses or did not re-register for the second semester.  Table 1 shows information from autumn 2010 on dropouts after one semester in the 14 provincial radio and TV universities. We can see that English programme dropout rate for each province is not the same. In regard to the bachelor's degree programme, Ningbo had the highest rate of 17.2%, while there were no dropouts in Gansu and Jiangxi at all; in regard to the associate degree programme, Shenzhen had the highest dropout rate of 19.7%, while Hunan had the lowest of 4.1%. The overall dropout rate for the 8 bachelor's degree programmes was 8.5%, and for the 6 associate degree programmes was 9.6%, with the overall dropout rate for the 14 observation sites coming to 9.1%.

Table 1  Dropouts in 14 Provincial Radio and TV Universities (PRTVUs) in Autumn 2010 (One Semester After Registration)

Analysis of online questionnaires

General profiles of the dropouts
118 dropouts filled out online questionnaires, 39 of whom were from bachelor's degree programmes and 79 from associate degree programmes. Table 2 shows the general profiles of the 118 dropouts. As seen from Table 2, dropouts of associate degree programmes are different from those in bachelor's degree programmes in terms of age, family situation, employment, and tuition payment. Students in bachelor's degree programmes were older, had more family responsibilities, and generally paid their tuition themselves. The percentage of dropouts holding jobs that had nothing to do with English was 51.3% for the bachelor's degree and 31.6% for the associate degree. The percentage of dropouts who did not study English as their programme before registration was 61.5% for the bachelor's degree and 74.7% for the associate degree.

Table 2  General Profiles of the Dropouts