Student dropout of the 2010 cohort in distance learning and face-to-face courses in Brazil

Abstract

Starting in the late 1990s, higher education expanded significantly in Brazil. In 2000, there were just over 5,000 students enrolled in distance learning courses, against almost 900,000 in face-to-face courses; in 2017, the numbers rose to almost 1 million and just over 2 million, respectively. Dropout rates in distance learning courses have been systematically higher than in face-to-face courses. Employing data from the Census of Higher Education, we compare dropout rates of students from both modalities, and investigate to what extent complementary activities and financial support are correlated with dropout over the years. Propensity score matching and survival analysis methods are employed. As a main result, we observe that distance learning students have a shorter university lifespan than those in face-to-face education. In addition, students who had financial support or who participated in complementary activities have a longer lifespan.