Dropout rates in Italian universities: a comparison of online and traditional universities

In Italy, the establishment of online universities was formalized by the financial act of 2003. Nonetheless, there is still a gap in the academic literature concerning them. The common perception is that online universities have a lower reputation, attracting students primarily interested in obtaining a degree for public job applications. However, they also offer greater flexibility in time management and eliminate transfer and accommodation costs. To contribute to this debate, we use a propensity score matching procedure to compare dropout rates between cohorts of students enrolled in traditional and online Italian universities from 2010 to 2020.