Students’ Difficulties Into Understanding First-Year Subjects:  A Premise For University Drop-Out. Case Study: The Bucharest University Of Economic Studies, The Faculty Of Business And Tourism

The increasing rate of students enrolling into higher education leads undoubtedly to a more contrasted student body, impeding the identification of potential sources that might determine their option into continuing or dropping out of university, mainly after the first year of admission. Although there are various reasons why students drop out of university, ranging from personal, social or even technical ones (considering online blended learning), we will focus mainly on difficulties encountered by students related to specific subjects or teaching techniques, known as academic difficulties. Therefore, considering Romania’s higher education is facing retention problems among students in various universities around the country, the purpose of the present study is to analyze the influence of a particular variable which, lato sensu, consists in students’ inability of channeling their resources into getting a deeper understanding of various university subjects in order to achieve effective learning and therefore successfully continue their studies. A quantitative study consisting in a two-stages questionnaire was carried out with 70 first year students enrolled at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, the Faculty of Business and Tourism who agreed to take part into the development of their academic performance by joining the agenda provided via the Secondary Education Project – ROSE BT. The present research offers empirical evidence that might be useful for future decision-making in order to improve educational processes and both students’ and professors’ accomplishments in university settings. Also, the results have indicated that students who have difficulties into understanding first-year subjects are more open to engage into further communication and academic activities with their professors and also to adapt to improved teaching and interaction techniques or strategies.