University absenteeism: four out of ten UAB students skip classes

BarcelonaSince the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic, which altered the usual functioning of classes, attendance at Catalan universities has been weakening. However, since university education is not compulsory, there is no official data on this type of absenteeism. Now, however, the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has published the first report by a public university on this phenomenon, which concludes that 40% of its student community does not attend class in some subjects.

The study, first reported by 3CatInfo and conducted with the participation of 3,045 people (2,000 of whom were students), notes that in the thirteen UAB centers where the different degree studies are taught, just over half of the students claim to attend practically all classes. On the other hand, one in four admit to skipping half of the sessions.

The impressions about absenteeism, however, vary depending on whether students or professors respond. If students are asked, approximately three out of four (77%) say they attend at least six out of ten sessions: 53.9% state they attend between 80% and 100% of classes, while 23.1% do so between 60% and 80%.

However, a relevant proportion of students present low or moderate attendance levels: 11.2% declare attending between 40% and 60% of classes; 6.7%, between 20% and 40%, and 5.1%, less than 20%. Overall, this implies that about 23% of students attend less than 60% of classes.

If professors are the ones responding, the average attendance of the student body is estimated at 60.7%. Only 23.5% of the teaching staff place absenteeism at low levels (below 20%), but almost half of the responses (49.4%) indicate absenteeism above 40%. Within this group, 16.7% point to particularly critical situations, with more than 60% absenteeism.

However, even though almost three out of four professors declare that attendance is mandatory in some format (theory, practical sessions, laboratories, or others) in their subjects, only 70% of them actually apply some control mechanism. This means that only 44% of the total surveyed teaching staff use some system to monitor student attendance in their classes.

Factors to consider

"Occasional non-attendance at class – for health and work reasons, unforeseen circumstances, etc. – has always existed, but the object of the study is the non-attendance at classes by students who are in optimal conditions to attend, but who decide not to do so," explain from the UAB.

The report highlights that this behavior does not respond to a single cause, but rather a combination of economic and health factors, including emotional well-being; the need to balance studies and work – four out of ten university students work while studying –, difficulties in accessing the campus, often due to problems with public transport services, as well as aspects related to a lack of motivation with the studies they are undertaking. For example, the perception of the low utility of some classes. Furthermore, 19.2% of students indicate that their family has low income, which points to situations of possible economic vulnerability.

"This set of factors paints a scenario where class attendance is conditioned by diverse personal and social realities," emphasizes the report. To these factors must be added didactic and organizational elements such as teaching methodologies, evaluation systems, or academic organization, which discourage class attendance.

The report notes that, although the lecture format continues to be predominant, a significant part of the teaching staff already incorporates more participatory and active methodologies. However, more teaching and learning methodologies are called for "that increase student involvement and better connect with their interests and expectations".