A Study on the Relationship Between University Education Satisfaction Factors, Student Satisfaction, Leave of Absence and Dropout Intention

This study investigated the structural relationships between the university education satisfaction factors(classes, university life, educational environment, student support), student satisfaction, and intention to leave and dropout were examined using structural equation modeling(SEM). To this end, we conducted a survey of 3,616 undergraduate students at University H at the end of the second semester of the 2024 academic year, and analyzed the responses based on the collected data. The analysis showed that satisfaction with classes, university life, educational environment, and student support all had a significant positive effect on student satisfaction, satisfaction with university life having the strongest effect. Student satisfaction also had a significant negative effect on both leave of absence and dropout intentions, with a stronger effect on dropout intention. Among the factors of university education satisfaction, educational environment had a significant effect only on the intention of leave of absence, while satisfaction with classes and university life had a significant effect on the intention of withdrawal. These findings suggest that leave of absence and withdrawal are decisions based on different decision-making processes. All four factors also showed significant indirect effects mediated by student satisfaction, confirming that student satisfaction is a key mediator of intention to persist. These results suggest the need for differentiated responses to different types of student dropouts and policy design centered on enhancing student satisfaction.