NATIONAL NEWS - Across the country hundreds of thousands of young people recently entered higher education hoping to graduate in a few years so that they are qualified to enter the workplace. 

The reality however is that first-year dropout rates are extremely high in South Africa, which means many first years won't complete their studies.

But the good news is that there are a number of early alarm bells which, if heeded, can help students manage their risk and prevent them from abandoning their studies, an education expert says.

"It is estimated that more than 40% of students quit their studies after their first year," says Peter Kriel, general manager at the Independent Institute of Education.

"Not being successful as a first-year student is a process that begins well before a student actually drops out, as there are various early signs of potential failure that can predict if a student may run into trouble later," says Kriel.

Students should carefully consider the questions below, Kriel says, and if the answer to any of these is "no", they need to take the recommended action.

1. Did I meaningfully participate in my institution's orientation programme?
   "If you missed out on orientation, particularly academic onboarding programmes, you will now have to acquire these skills on your own on top of the day-to-day academic demands," he says.
   Solution: Speak to someone to find out what the orientation programme included. If your institution of choice is offering an extended first year onboarding programme, make sure you get involved immediately. Make time to specifically focus on trying to gather the information you missed out on – logistical information is especially easy to gather. Academic preparedness will be a little more challenging, but it is worth catching up on what you missed early on.
2. Am I attending most of my classes?
   Class attendance is probably the single most important contributing factor to success, says Kriel. "If you miss class simply because you don't feel like it or you had a late night and feel like sleeping in, you are at risk," he says. "If you miss class because you are working on an assignment or task in another module (it) becomes a vicious circle as you miss more classes to do other assignments. This is a recipe for failure."
   Solution: Undertake to miss no more classes and draw up a roster for future assignments so you can complete these without needing to skip class. Schedule all other activities so there is no conflict with your classes. If you still miss a specific lecture, catch up as soon as you can.
3. Did I pass all my assessments to date?
   Your performance in any assessment, be it a formal test or assignment or a task completed in class, is already a clear indicator of your outcomes profile, says Kriel.
   Solution: Determine why you failed. Did you work hard enough? Did you do everything possible and simply do not understand certain concepts? If this is the case, speak to your lecturer sooner rather than later about how to approach the issue.
4. Did I acquire all the prescribed text for my modules?
   For many reasons, many students don't buy prescribed textbooks. "Unfortunately, your chances of success are diminished if you don't have textbooks," says Kriel.
   Solution: If you can afford to buy the prescribed text, get it as soon as possible. If not, know that student-centred higher education institutions will be acutely aware of the challenges some students face and may have e-book alternatives. Often these are available for free to registered students. Speak to the librarian on your campus to find out if there is an e-book alternative for the textbooks you don't have. There may also be copies of the textbooks in the campus library, and while these are often on the reserve shelf, spending time in the library will definitely be advantageous.

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