A Low-Cost Intervention For Reducing Costs From Higher Education Dropout: The Dropout Reduction Model

National investment in education improves national economic prosperity and contributing to development. In countries where there is significant investment in higher education at the national level, student dropout from higher education represents a major source of financial loss. There are also losses at the institutional level. Although the high cost of dropout is understood, institutions have failed to take responsibility for dropout reduction, owing in part to the additional cost associated with dropout prevention. To address this issue, we present, on the basis of theoretical and empirical literature, the Dropout Reduction Model. The Dropout Reduction Model focuses on institutional responsibility for (a) student commitment, (b) social support, and (c) institutional support and provides strategies for the improvement of each of these three values. Additionally, we propose a concrete intervention based on the Dropout Reduction Model, by which institutions can effect reductions in dropout rate without incurring significant costs. The intervention focuses on policy and pedagogy changes with minimal required inputs, thereby enabling institutions to reduce sunk costs from dropout without significant budgetary strain.