Formative quality and dropout in higher education

The monitoring of retention and permanence in higher education institutions is necessary in terms of the quality and agility in the training process in specific areas of knowledge. The National Open and Distance University (UNAD) has an open and distance offer with digitally mediated methodology. In relation to the management of information on dropout and permanence, the intelligent system is used that provides the systematization of enrollment, graduation and dropout records by academic period, starting from 2014-1 to 2018-2, and the application of a survey to determine the reasons for dropping out of studies. The average dropout rate identified in the School of Education Sciences (ECEDU) reaches 43%, of which 32% corresponds to personal factors, 23% corresponds to the economic factor, 20% corresponds to the academic factor and 25% corresponds to the institutional factor. The highest percentage of dropout recorded occurs in the first four academic periods, called early dropout. It is possible to establish that the study methodology in the open, distance and virtual modality is one of the significant causes of the dropout factor, partly attributed to the lack of teacher accompaniment.