Students enrolled in STEM discipline in Italy: patterns of retention, dropout and switch

Ongoing technological change has led to a steadily growing demand for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates worldwide. But not only do STEM disciplines have a low attractiveness in some contexts, such as in the US and Italy; it is also a matter of persistence of pursuing STEM studies, affected by high rates of dropout and course switches in several countries. Using administrative microdata from the Italian Ministry for Universities and Research and selecting students enrolled in a STEM discipline between 2010 and 2015, our objective is twofold: understanding which distinct patterns characterise students towards retention, dropout, or switch; investigating to what extent each individual each individual and contextual characteristics predict students' outcome. Identifying at-risk STEM students to dropout/switch is an essential and challenging issue for the delivery of university interventions aiming to reduce failure and dropout rates.