Student failure in the first year of university in France: current situation and future prospects

Abstract

Faced with persisting massive failure rates in the first year of university, the French authorities have decided to implement measures to improve study conditions. Although these measures translate into additional resources for universities, the latter are placed under an obligation to achieve results, because student success rates at the end of their first year of university are now one of the indicators of university performance. The challenge appears insurmountable. The empirical study presented in this article shows that the level of student success is not correlated to the human resources brought to bear. This outcome suggests that it is unlikely that the problem of failure can be resolved otherwise than by a systemic reform that would involve, among other things, allowing universities to select the students wishing to register.

Keywords:

• university
• failure
• reform
• selection