Dropout:

a study from the management of student permanence in Higher Education Institutions of the private network of the city of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Dropout is a recurrent theme in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). For managers, keeping students in HEIs until their effective graduation is a great challenge. Therefore, analyzing how the private network HEIs manage the permanence of students to reduce dropout is the objective of this article. Therefore, it was decided to carry out descriptive research, with a qualitative approach and a case study involving five private HEIs in the city of Rio de Janeiro. HEI managers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview script, containing questions about the object of the study. The results pointed to a concern with school dropout. However, there was a lack of conceptual alignment on dropout and little information on the causes and percentages of dropout students. It was observed that the permanence management is not practiced in a systemic way, with the integrated action of all sectors of the HEIs, so that they contribute to improve the performance of these institutions, thus mitigating dropouts. The development of this study lends its collaboration to identifying opportunities for improvement in private HEIs for the theme of school dropout from the management of permanence.