RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Starting University in 2019, I was excited to really hone in on the true meaning of media and what aspects/notions makes you great at content creation within the media industry. Throughout the 1st semester I didn’t have any problems, apart from the inevitable stress which comes along with exams and assignments. I truly enjoyed my first year as it allowed myself to pursue a long lost hobby, photography, whilst also pursuing my true dream in journalism.

However, this is not case for a lot of people at university. Some students disregard the work because of a lack of interest or the impact it has on their mental health. Even so, some students pick a subject based on an impulse and soon regret it. This then leads to a student changing degrees, deferring and or dropping out ie. my research question which I will be proposing.

WHAT LEADS TO UNI STUDENTS CHANGING DEGREES, DEFERRING AND OR DROPPING OUT?

I know specifically within the BCM course, putting yourself out there can be daunting and was daunting for fellow peers which lead to a few people deferring or changing subjects. In particular, the online presence in BCM112, whilst being personally enjoyable, would have forced students to consistently post on their own media domain. I did see this coming in a media degree and the subject being social media oriented.

As seen above in the poll, my question is clearly prominent and would attract much discussion. With a small number of people who have never even questioned their degree and a large sum who have both thought about it or have changed degree.

My poll was made in particular for people who have changed degrees to a media and communications degree. Yet, as I’m specifically aiming towards the emotional reasoning as to why students change degrees, defer or drop out, I will draw research through comments by fellow peers of the BCM degree.

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Mental health is an important factor to remember when talking about the factors which lead to a student stopping their university degree. It is said that when becoming a teenager, you become more independent and decision making starts to become an individual responsibility, which can be hard for a struggling university student.

My aim with my research would be to delve into a more emotional understanding as to why students drop out, straying away from the physical stats and facts.

Some factors which have already been researched include:

1. Maturity
2. Failure
3. Impact on mental health
4. Only going to make the parents happy

Whilst researching, I came across a Huffington Post article which spoke about the impact that parents have on choosing to go to university. This is an interesting discussion as I feel like it has changed over the years as parents see that going to university isn’t the only way of doing your intended career. But, in regards to your mental health, parental pressure can affect a students emotional state leading to poor marks or a the student not enjoying the degree chosen. It will be interesting to see if that will prove to be a popular reason.

Another source talks about the debt which surrounds a university student after finishing the chosen degree. With the debt averaging between $20,000 and $30,000, it has a significant affect on the choice of dropping out or even changing degrees. This comes with the fact that a university degree doesn’t mean that it is for certain that you will get the chosen career that you have studied for. This can heap a lot of pressure on a student, forcing them to weigh options and be indecisive possibly leading to them deferring or changing degree.

With this being said, I believe my question is relevant in today’s society as it will provide emotional reasoning as to why students change or stop their degree. I feel I can enjoy researching this particular topic as it has always been something i’ve been intrigued by over the last two years whilst at university.

JAMES.M

References

Adams, A,. R 2015. ‘How mental health alters decision making’. Stanford. Viewed 31 March 2020. <https://news.stanford.edu/features/2015/decisions/disease-state.html>

Baxter-Wright, D., 2018. ‘7 Students On Why They Dropped Out Of University‘. Cosmopolitan. Viewed 1 April 2020. <https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/worklife/campus/a20682119/why-students-dropped-out-of-university/>

Aston, E,. R 2018. ‘Why Students drop out of college, and how can we do something about it’. Huff Post. Viewed 1 April. <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-most-students-drop-out-of-college-and-how-we-can_b_5a5d9f77e4b01ccdd48b5f46>

Kokemuller, N,. R 2017. ‘Effects of dropping out on college students’. The Classroom. Viewed 1 April. <https://www.theclassroom.com/effects-dropping-out-college-students-11601.html>

Dayman, I,. R 2018. ‘Was your university degree worth the debt? High-paying jobs aren’t a sure thing, experts say’. ABC. Viewed 1 April. <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-11/was-your-university-degree-worth-it/9637850&gt;