Attrition and achievement in the scheme of private study

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Abstract
The incidence of drop‐out amongst those studying by correspondence per se is high. Various reasons have been hypothesised for the low completion rate, including: • The apparent magnitude of the course so discourages the student that he does not begin to submit lessons. • The student lacks the self‐discipline to complete the course. • The student becomes discouraged by the poor marking and late return of his scripts. • The nature of the work may be such that, in the absence of any oral tuition, the return on the investment of the student's time is disproportionately low. In an effort to combat some of these weaknesses, in particular the lack of oral element on the traditional correspondence courses, a number of schemes have been initiated during the past few years. One such scheme, operated at the South West London College, is Directed Private Study (DPS). This is the term used to describe linked oral and postal tuition and with continuous tutorial advice. Recently, an analysis of the attrition in such courses was made to determine at which point most drop‐outs occur. This report presents the data which relates to one of the several DPS schemes operating at the South West London College.

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