Identifying Problematic Study Progression and “At-Risk” Students in Higher Education in Finland

Abstract

Finland offers a specific example of a country with a broad enrolment in higher education, where the educational starting age is relatively high and where studies may last considerably longer than in most other European countries. This study attempted to identify at-risk students in Finnish universities with the greatest probability of non-completion of studies. This probability is by far the highest in the fields of information technology and information sciences and, in specific cases, in the fields of mathematics and science and economics and management. The situation of at-risk students is best described in terms of the scant use of time for present studies, uncertainty regarding their study field choices and their general intention to withdraw from their studies. An analysis of qualitative case study interviews revealed six general student types, each representing different meanings of studying for slowly advancing at-risk students.