ABSTRACT
Students who withdraw can nevertheless be perfectly satisfied with their experience but will count as failures from the institution's perspective. There are difficult issues, particularly for open entry institutions which rightfully wish to become more accessible to educationally disadvantaged students. Widening access will therefore imply a consequent enhancement and focusing of support for such students. Institutions with entry qualifications obviously use a 'customer selection' process but do not entirely avoid the problem. Almost anyone working in student support will wish to retain as many students as possible. When tutors are asked the reasons why particular students on their course dropped out, they are much more likely to identify miscellaneous issues as being the 'real' causes of withdrawal. Students can drop out at several points in their progress, from initial enquiry as potential students through to the successful completion of their studies.
