Table 1.

Data recorded for each student

Source and type of data
University Admissions Office	· Age at course entry
· Student number (unique student identifier generated at university entry).	· Age when left course
· Year started programme	· Total number of years on programme
· Name	· Type of programme (Direct-Entry, Graduate-Entry, Mature student).
· Address (country of origin)	· Previous degree
· Date of birth	From University Examinations Office
· Date of exit	· Last exam passed
· Year of programme student left	· Exam grades
· Gender	· Number of repeat years
· EU/non-EU	· Number times sat Autumn repeat examinations
	· Other degree awarded
	· Enrolment on another UCC programme (modules registered for examination)
	· Completed Medical Foundation Year (6 year programme)
From Student File	Comment
Marital status	Not usually documented.
Living at home	Not usually documented.
Evidence of English fluency problems	Likely to be under-reported.
Wrong course choice	Identified from exit interview, student comments and timing of withdrawal.
Parental influence in career choice	Unlikely to be documented. May be a ‘personal’ reason.
Student opinion that course too academically challenging
Difficulty with programme as did not study science subjects previously	Because of course entry requirements, all Direct-Entry students have studied Higher Level Chemistry and at least one other science subject.
Documented evidence physical ill-health	Likely to be under-reported.
Documented evidence psychological illness	Depression, anxiety, personality disorders, eating disorders, stress-related illness.
	Likely to be under-reported.
Documented evidence financial problems
Documented evidence substance abuse	Includes alcohol abuse. Likely to be under-reported.
Documented evidence family problems
Evidence of home-sickness/not settling in	Likely to be under-reported.
Evidence of relationship problems	Likely to be under-reported.
Availed of student welfare service	Student visits to the student welfare service are recorded in student files. The student welfare service makes confidential referrals to the Student Health Centre (has a psychiatry clinic) and counseling services.
Proposed plans for the future	Identified at exit interview, file comments, or subsequent registered modules.
Formal exit interview
Evidence of absenteeism	Likely to be non-reported or under-reported.
Evidence of academic difficulty	Examination failure. Low grades.
Left due to Two-Year Rule
Staff comments/observations	Valuable observations were obtained from inter-staff correspondence/file entries.
Student comments	Identified from student correspondence/exit interview/file entries.
Reason for withdrawal	The specific over-riding reason for dropout was recorded if available.