Some students are too disengaged to drop out ¨C even if it would save them a significant amount of debt, an Australian study suggests.

A randomised trial has found that targeted outreach by Curtin University staff, reminding first-year students that they can avoid debt by promptly cancelling their enrolments, made no difference to those in most danger of squandering their money.

The students deemed at greatest risk ¨C those who had used the Blackboard learning management system less than 10 times in the first fortnight of the semester ¨C received emails, texts and follow-up phone calls explaining that they could escape significant debt by formally withdrawing before the following week¡¯s ¡°census¡± date.

But they proved statistically no more likely to cancel their enrolments than similarly at-risk students in a control group which received no special intervention.

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The study has been in the ¡°¡± of the Australian Centre for the Study of Student Equity and Success (Acses), which is based at Curtin. Acses trials lead Patricia Vermillion Peirce said it was hard to say why the most disengaged students had not responded to the intervention.

One possibility was that phones were not an effective medium when students were already ¡°bombarded¡± by ¡°random¡± salespeople. ¡°If they don¡¯t recognise the number, they might not be picking up,¡± Vermillion Peirce said. ¡°These standard approaches just don¡¯t work for them. It¡¯s about understanding what gets their interest, what gets their attention, and what to say.¡±

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The trial found that the interventions had some effect on ¡°medium-risk¡± students who had used Blackboard between 10 and 15 times in the first fortnight. They proved more likely to withdraw if they received emails and texts reminding them of their options.

¡°Practitioners¡­may find better success targeting those that are still somewhat engaging with content, but are not in a place to complete the semester, rather than directing resources to high-risk students,¡± the paper says.

Lead author Ella Ewert, Curtin¡¯s manager of transition and first year experience, said the findings suggested that students exhibiting moderate interest in their courses may be able ¡°to make better-informed decisions¡± than those who had almost entirely disengaged.

¡°We often assume that early support naturally leads to better outcomes for everyone, but this trial shows it¡¯s not that simple,¡± Ewart said. ¡°The real challenge is recognising the diversity of student needs and responding with flexibility and care.¡±

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The authors speculated that the ¡°high-risk¡± students had become so disengaged that any attempt at engaging them was forlorn. But another possibility was that they had already decided to withdraw, so ¡°the intervention has no further effect¡±. High-risk students generally drop out at a higher rate than medium-risk students, the paper points out.

The study also found that subsequent interventions ¨C emails, texts or phone calls referring students to guided study sessions, for instance ¨C did not boost their chances of submitting assignments or earning good grades. ¡°Our population of interest is already a disengaged cohort,¡± the authors noted. ¡°It seems unlikely they will engage in non-compulsory study.¡±

The paper acknowledges shortcomings in the trial methodology, including with the randomisation. It says early withdrawals by disengaged students, with or without prompting, would have influenced the profile of students subjected to later interventions.

¡°We cannot say that students withdraw randomly,¡± the paper explains. ¡°Thus, the students remaining may be different to those that were randomised.¡±

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john.ross@timeshighereducation.com