The Dropout of First-Year STEM Students: Is It Worth Looking beyond Academic Achievement?

The expansion of Higher Education increased the diversity students, with heterogenous characteristics, needs, and values. Institutions, intending to preserve mission transformative potential tertiary level education, are facing implementing policies practices that enhance success conditions, persistence, avoid student dropout, in order meet goals for sustainable development people societies. present study aims analyze impact personal academic variables on students’ difficulties adaption HE, achievement, dropout among first-year STEM students. From a cohort students at Portuguese public university, participants numbered 1376. Applying structural equation modelling, results highlight effect age, gender, scholarship, grade point average access higher adapting decision. Understanding who have already dropped out can contribute better identification institutional actions prevent reduce its occurrence, especially