Acta Didactica Napocensia
Volume 10 Number 4, pages 109-120
Published: 25 December 2017
Ways to
improve students' decision for academic studies
Simona Sava, Madalin Bunoiu, Malita Laura
Abstract. Student population in Romanian higher education has been decreasing in the
last years. The dropout is quite high. Such data force the universities to look
for concrete solutions to widen the participation, the retention and the
completion rate. Informed decision about academic studies, clear academic and
career goals are prerequisite for study success. Thus, at the West University of Timisoara (WUT) was carried out a pilot study, on 900
students enrolling for higher education, to find out about the way they have chosen their academic studies and about
their expectations. Their views and suggestions for easier and clearer options
are ground for tailored policy measures within our university and beyond. The
initial evaluation on the new students is a basis for a better focused
interaction with them during their first year of studies. Also the data
suggests possible specific measures to improve retention rates, such as:
diversified student services, covering academic guidance services, not only
career guidance services, as well as a stronger collaboration between universities and
highschools, for a better orientation and guidance of the pupils for their
possible academic studies.
Keywords: access to
higher education, academic counselling, student drop out, policy measures.