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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.

Sec. Higher Education

Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1582586

Relevant Factors in the Decision to Desert of Engineering Students in the Context of Emerging Economies

Provisionally accepted
Ezequiel MartínezEzequiel Martínez1Paula Andrea Rodríguez-CorreaPaula Andrea Rodríguez-Correa2Erica Agudelo-CeballosErica Agudelo-Ceballos2Alejandro Valencia-AriasAlejandro Valencia-Arias3*Gustavo MorenoGustavo Moreno4Gustavo Sánchez SantosGustavo Sánchez Santos5Jesus Alberto Jimenez GarcíaJesus Alberto Jimenez García3Manuel Humberto Vásquez CoronadoManuel Humberto Vásquez Coronado3
  • 1Arturo Prat University, Iquique, Chile
  • 2Metropolitan Institute of Technology, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
  • 3Lord of Sipan University, Chiclayo, Peru
  • 4Marco Fidel Suárez University Institution, Bello, Antioquia, Colombia
  • 5Universidad Ricardo Palma, Lima, Peru

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Early dropout from academic programs related to engineering represents one of the main concerns of public and private higher education institutions (HEI) in countries with emerging economies. The objective of this study is to identify the most relevant factors that influence the decision of engineering students to drop out of a private university in Colombia. For this purpose, a quantitative study is carried out using a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) based on the Spady model. A survey was applied to 190 engineering students of an educational institution in the city of Medellin, Colombia. These findings highlight the pivotal role of HEIs in influencing students' decisions through structured academic and emotional support. As such, institutional commitment and welfare strategies become critical levers for improving retention. Therefore, the role of institutions in the retention of engineering students by applying university welfare strategies is highlighted.

Keywords: student dropout, dropout, Engineering students, emerging economy, Spady model

Received: 24 Feb 2025; Accepted: 18 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Martínez, Rodríguez-Correa, Agudelo-Ceballos, Valencia-Arias, Moreno, Sánchez Santos, Jimenez García and Vásquez Coronado. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Alejandro Valencia-Arias, Lord of Sipan University, Chiclayo, Peru

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material