The consequences of academic dismissal for academic success

Ilja Cornelisz*, Rolf van der Velden, Inge de Wolf, Chris van Klaveren*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Academic dismissal policies are increasingly implemented to promote academic success, with existing empirical evidence mostly restricted to short-run outcomes. This study examines long-term academic outcomes of academic dismissal for two cohorts of first-year bachelor students in Economics and Business at a Dutch university. Using administrative records, regression discontinuity design estimates suggest that academic dismissal does not relate to a difference in the propensity of graduation, nor to a change in study delay, when comparing students around the academic dismissal threshold. Not meeting this credit-threshold forces students to leave, and most decide to re-enroll in the same (43.4%) program elsewhere or at least within the academic domain (41.9%). Thus, while academic dismissal forces students to switch, its intended purpose of redirecting students to a different field of study is not observed. Implications for why academic dismissal might not deliver on the intended efficiency or effectiveness gains are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2175-2189
Number of pages15
JournalStudies in Higher Education
Volume45
Issue number11
Early online date30 Mar 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Nov 2020

Keywords

  • Academic dismissal
  • higher education
  • educational attainment
  • student graduation
  • BINDING-STUDY ADVICE
  • EDUCATION
  • ABILITY

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