Reasons Affecting Attrition of Medical

Technology Students of the University of

Santo Tomas from Academic Year 2010-2013
Cordova, Joseph Bernard E., Cuisia, Jose Alfonso P., Daroy, Crystel Mhariel V., David,
Adriel T., David, Daryl M., Delos Santos, Kimberly S., Echavez, Francesca B.
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santo Tomas, Espaa Blvd., Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines
Email: jbe_cordova@ymail.com, cuisiajac@yahoo.com, crystelmhariel_daroy29@yahoo.com,
adriel.david.3@gmail.com, darylmdavid219@gmail.com, kim_stix@yahoo.com, francesca.echavez@yahoo.com

The number of students that are able to finish the program is noticeably fewer than the original number of
enrollees in the Department of Medical Technology of the University of Santo Tomas. The aim of the study is to
determine and compare the number of attrition from academic year 2010-2013 and to identify their reasons of
dropping out. Through the consent of the University Registrar, Deans office and Guidance Office, records of the
student attrition incidents, as well as the reasons, were obtained. The gathered information includes the total number
of attrition per academic year and the reasons that bring forth them to make the decision. After the interpretation of
the data, it was concluded that the primary reason for the high attrition rate is the difficulty with the program.
Moreover, the data that were collected showed that the academic year 2010-2011 showed the highest number of
attrition.
Keywordsattrition, dropout, academic year,

I.

INTRODUCTION

II. According to the United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2012),
educational institutions are reaching out for more
students, but dropout rates are increasing especially in
Southeast Asian countries due to some insufficiencies.
For instance, dropout rates in the Philippines increased
from 8.6 to 9 percent based on the 2006 to 2007
statistics of the National Statistical Coordination Board
(NSCB). The main cause of dropout is due to absence
of motivation or personal interest. Some students may
be lacking on information about the value of education.
Also, some underprivileged people are hasty and
unable to realize the rewards in educating their children
(Oberta, 2010). The most common causes of the
increasing rates of student dropouts are academic
struggling, absenteeism, social isolation, depression
and leave of absence (Maher et al., 2013). Other factors
affecting student attrition include characteristics of
students, characteristics of program, and interaction
between program and students (Ascend Learning, LLC,
2012). Hirschy, Bremer, and Castellano (2011) argued
that stability and malleability of students have an effect
towards dropout incidence. Stable characteristics are
those concerning the sociodemographic attributes,
academic preparation before college, commitments and
responsibilities of students to their work, family, and
community. On the other hand, student dispositions,
skills, and goals are under malleable characteristics.
Yukselturk and Inan (2006) ascertained that some
members terminated their enrolment due to several
factors related to the characteristics of the program,
such as the schedule and the pacing, lack of feedback,
quality of academic supplies, lack of communication
on the parts of both students and teachers, lack of
social structure, and inexperience of the lecturers. A
common feature that consistently impacts the dropout
rate of any academic program is its procedures in
admissions and criteria (Dodge et al., 2009; Glossop,
2002; Newton & Moore, 2009; Tinto, 1975). Criteria
set to a minimum will highly increase student attrition
as large number of students are admitted while barely
meeting the minimum requirements. Most importantly,
Tinto argued that the interaction between the program
and the student has a huge influence on the student
attrition rate. In an academic and social perspective,
student assimilation and integration is dependent on the

affirmative relationships between students and teacher

(as cited in Ascend Learning, LLC, 2012).
III.
IV. Student attrition has become a hindrance for
several reasons. It is a matter of interest in at least two
aspects: the aggregate economy level and the education
sector. In the aggregate economy level, premature
dropout leads to loss of potential output because
education is seen as a major factor in economic
development. In the education sector, student attrition
increases the loss of accomplishing the targeted ratio of
the population with some level of education
(Hanushek, Lavy, & Hitomi, 2006). This problem has
been observed in the Faculty of Pharmacy, specifically
in the Department of Medical Technology of the
University of Santo Tomas every academic year. The
economic growth and productivity of the department is
affected by this constant reduction of student
population. Majority of the funds that the department
consumes are primarily provided by the students. An
increased attrition can inhibit budget for maintenance
of facilities, wages of staff, extracurricular activities,
and student care which can result to the degradation of
educational quality thus further increasing attrition rate.
Annually, the department admits approximately 350
freshmen students. However, the number of students
that are able to remain until fourth year and finish the
program is noticeably fewer than the original number
of enrollees.
V.
VI. The aim of the study is to determine and
compare the number of attrition from academic year
2010-2013 in the Department of Medical Technology
of the University of Santo Tomas, and to determine the
reasons of dropping out of the students. The findings of
the study will benefit the Medical Technology
department of the University of the Santo Tomas. The
results that will be obtained may help the authorities to
address the problem regarding the increasing rate of
attrition every academic year. Moreover, the study will
raise awareness to college students of Department of
Medical Technology about the factors contributing to
student attrition and for high school graduates to
carefully consider these factors before enrolling for the
program. Lastly, for the government, it aims to attract
attention to the deterioration of economy in association
with the increasing rate of attrition. Unlike previous
studies, the focal point of this research is to produce a

statistical data on the attrition rate of students

specifically on the Medical Technology department of
the University of Santo Tomas.
VII.
VIII.
IX.

2.1 Research Design

2.2 Subject

XII.
Samples was taken from the school
records involving students who dropped out from the
Medical Technology program under the Faculty of
Pharmacy in the Academic Year 2010-2013 after
undertaking the necessary protocol. Incidental
sampling method was used in this study. This sampling
strategy was performed by conveniently selecting
available elements.
XIII.

2.3 Instrumentation

XIV.
Records containing the student
attrition incidents were obtained by writing a formal
letter to the Dean of the faculty of Pharmacy, College
Guidance Office and the University Registrar. An
interview with the assistant dean, guidance counselors
and various authorities managing student enrolment
and attrition was conducted in order to acquire
information that will supplement the records obtained
from the offices. The number of dropout students in the
academic year 2010-2013 was provided by the Office
of the Dean and the Office of the Registrar. Due to the
confidentiality of obtaining dropout records from the
Office of the Dean and Guidance Office, the reasons of
students for dropping out were obtained by conducting
an interview from various authorities managing student
enrolment and attrition of the Faculty of Pharmacy.
Based from the data gathered, the attrition rate was
then calculated and compared.
XV.

Medical Technology S tudent Attrition in A.Y. 2010 - 2013

METHODOLOGY

X.
For better and efficient acquisition
and representation of the needed information, the
descriptive survey method was used to represent the
samples. The obtained information will be the basis for
formulating scientific conclusions.
XI.

XVI.

RESULTS

Number of Attrition

120
100
80
60
40
20
0

49
49

35
37

17
29

Female
Male

Academic Year

XVII.

Figure 1 Number of attrition in the UST

Faculty of Pharmacy BS, Medical
Technology from 2010 to 2013

XVIII.
XIX.
Figure 1.0 shows that the number of
attrition in the UST Faculty of Pharmacy, BS Medical
Technology from 2010-2013. Of the 216 student with
95 females and 115 males, the academic year 20102011 has the highest number of attrition with 49 female
and 49 male dropouts with a total number of 98
(45.37%) while academic year 2012-2013 has the
lowest with 17 female and 29 male dropouts with a
total of 46 (21.30%) number of attrition. The academic
year 2011-2012 has 25 female and 37 male dropouts
with a total of 72 (33.33%) attrition.
XX.
XXI.
With the conducted interview with
the various authorities managing student enrolment and
attrition of the Faculty of Pharmacy, it revealed that the
reasons of attrition in the Faculty of Pharmacy, BS
Medical Technology from 2010-2013 are the
following:
Shifting to a different program
Difficulty in adapting to the new
environment
Difficulty with the program
Family problems
Financial problems
Health problems
Migration
Transferring to other schools
Weather conditions
XXII.
XXIII.
In the administered interview, it also
revealed that in the academic year 2010-2011, a new

implementation to the grading criteria of the professors

of the faculty was done wherein the students with
incomplete requirements were not allowed to pass.
Moreover, in this academic year, there was an
increased number of typhoons that affected the
Philippines which may resulted to family and financial
problems.

[3]

[4]

[5]
XXIV.

CONCLUSION

XXV.
The results that were gathered were
compared. It revealed that the highest percentage of
students who dropped out from the program was
recorded in the academic year 2010-2011 with 45.37%.
Based from the data that were obtained from the
interview, it also revealed that majority of the students
have experienced academic difficulties in the said
academic year. There were also several reasons that
contribute to the increase of attrition and the leading
cause of this was due to the difficulty of the students to
cope up with the program.
XXVI.

[6]

[7]
[8]

[9]

RECOMMENDATION

XXVII. The researchers would like to

recommend to the future researchers to identify the
year level with the highest attrition. The study is only
limited to the attrition rate of one program and with
that in mind, the researchers also suggest conducting a
study involving a bigger population.
For the
improvement of the research, further study regarding
the success rate on employment of the previous
dropouts of the program is also advised.

[10]

XXVIII.BIBLIOGRAPHY

[12]

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XXIX.