Wrong Course Choices Are Leading to Dropouts at Dutch Universities, Report Says

The dropout rate among university students in the Netherlands is high, and one reason appears to be the wrong course choices, according to new research.

A report by the Dutch government reveals that 30 percent of first-year students enrolled at Universities or a University of Applied Sciences dropped out or changed their course during the 2021/22 academic year.

According to findings, this figure has not significantly changed over recent years, which, among other things, leads to a lack of professional staff in critical sectors, including healthcare and teaching, Erudera.com reports.

However, more dropouts have been recorded among first-year HBO students (34 percent) than among first-year university students (25 percent).

“The drop-out and switch percentage in the Netherlands has fluctuated between 25 and over 30 percent for years. In the 2021-2022 intake cohort, there was a 30 percent drop-out and switch. This involved over 40,000 first-year higher education students who stopped their studies. These were 27,552 HBO students (34 percent of all HBO first-year students) and 12,869 WO students (25 percent of all HO first-year students),” the report reads.

To prevent this struggle, the report recommends a stricter selection process for courses where the number of students quitting is higher. Additionally, it recommends introducing a obligatory “taster period” and higher fees for master programs.

The Netherlands has been witnessing international student enrollment increase in recent years. Their enrollment at Dutch higher education institutions has been rising especially over the past decade.

Currently, 24 percent of international students live and work in the Netherlands four years after graduation. Students from outside the EU are typically more likely to remain in the Netherlands after completing their degree (38 percent) than EU students (18 percent).

According to Statistics Netherlands, nearly 123,000 international students attended higher education institutions in the Netherlands during 2022/23, representing 15 percent of the student population.

The same reveals that more HBO international students are taking courses in arts, design, languages, and history compared to domestic students. On the other hand, fewer students study education, care, and welfare disciplines.

Nuffic data released on May 28 showed that the number of international students in the Netherlands increased by 5.4 percent to 128,004 in the 2022/23 academic year, the smallest increase since 2014.

However, the Dutch government plans to reduce international student numbers due to concerns about housing shortages and overcrowded classrooms, among other reasons.

14 Dutch universities, members of Universities Netherlands (UNL) agreed to implement the proposal earlier this year.

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