Each year, significant numbers of students withdraw from higher education. Each withdrawal represents to the individual student a considerable cost. To the institution, each withdrawal raises questions on admissions procedures, course and institutional information, student care and finance. In addition, recent quality assurance initiatives require institutions to reflect upon what they offer to students, and when students withdraw, it is necessary to investigate the reasons for this. These concerns formed the basis of this study of withdrawal at a UK institution, which attempted to determine whether more support could be provided to students.
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