One fifth of UK undergraduates drop out

Almost one in five students who embark on a first degree course in the United Kingdom are expected to abandon higher education before they gain a degree, says a report published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.1 It also indicates that 8% of school leavers and 16% of mature students drop out before the end of their first year.

The council's third annual report of higher education performance indicators, drawn from data provided by 169 publicly …