[Israeli dental school dropout, a 13-year retrospective survey].

Abstract

Admission policies for higher education are aimed at achieving efficient allocation of resources for both faculty and students, in an attempt to minimize dropout. Methods: The characteristics of dropout students at the School of Dental Medicine at the Hebrew University from 2001 to 2013 were assessed in a retrospective study. Data were collected from dental school records, followed by an online questionnaire Results: Between 2001 and 2013, 268 out of 925 students left and did not return the following year, reflecting a dropout rate of 29%. A total 98 dropouts responded to the survey. The academic achievements of the dropouts were higher than average. The primary reason for quitting dental school was attraction to a different professional field (70%) and lack of interest in dentistry (11%). Almost all the dropouts left in the first three years: 80% of them transferred to medical school, 17% transferred to a profession other than medicine, and 4% continued their dental studies in another institution. Conclusion: Dropout was clearly not due to academic reasons, but rather attributable to pursuit of medical studies. The present findings imply that the admission process failed to identify students who do not intend to graduate. It is likely that changing the structure of the program by admitting students only to a 3 to 4 year program of dental school, following pre-med studies, may have a positive effect on reducing the dropout rate.