Factors Making Students to Drop their Courses at the End of Semester in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Dropping the courses by students at the end of the semester, leads to interfering educational programs' hours with examinations' schedule in forthcoming semesters, reducing efficacy, wasting time, staying behind compared to other classmates, and finally extending schooling period. This study was perfor-med with the aim of investigating the causes for dropping the courses by students at the end of the semester in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study, a questionnaire in four areas related to the students, courses, teachers' education, and using facilities was developed. The questionnaire was distributed among the students referring to drop their courses in the dates assigned for this purpose. Data was analyzed by SPSS software using chi² and descriptive statistics. Results: Causes for course drop were respectively as: 44.3% unauthorized absence more than legal maximum, 20.7% course difficulty, 20.4% low midterm score, 18.4% interfering with other exams, 17% interfering with other courses, 10.1% inappropriate teaching method, 7.4% personal problems, and 6.3% not studying during the semester. Conclusion: Students must be informed about the rules and regulations, by-laws and consequences of dropping courses at the end of the semester. Familiarizing students with educational rules and regulations and orienting them about consequences of dropping courses is strongly recommended.