TEMPE, Ariz. (July 10, 2019) – A new study from the market research team at /Zion & Zion, a top-ranked, full-service, national marketing agency, explores the prevalence and motives of students withdrawing from college courses.

The findings of Zion & Zion’s research have implications for the managing and marketing of colleges:

  • 41% of students drop a class while they are a freshman or sophomore at a four-year college or university, or in their first year at a two-year community or junior college.
  • The main reasons given for dropping a course were “I did not like the course” (21%), “I did not like the instructor” (19%), “I was not happy with my grade” (19%), and “I did not understand the material” (17%).

The full research report is available here: College Students Are Dropping Classes: How Often and Why

To better understand the impact of student class withdrawals, Zion & Zion conducted a nationwide survey of 1,200 college students in two groups: current freshmen and sophomores at four-year colleges and universities, and students in their first year at a two-year community or junior college. Authors of the study are Fred Petrovsky, MFA; Aric Zion, MS; and Thomas Hollmann, MBA, PhD.