Leaving College: A Gender Comparison in Male and Female-Dominated Programs

Women, on average, outnumber men and are more successful in higher education. A literature overview showed that these differences
may be explained by gender differences in learner characteristics, by external factors and by institutional factors. This
study aims to explain gender differences in higher education in more detail by focusing on one of the recent research findings
in this area: the role of the numerical representation of men and women in course programs. What are gender differences in
study success in male and female-dominated course programs, and what are gender differences in reasons for leaving these programs?
The research questions were answered by analyzing Dutch census data and conducting a survey on students that have left college.
Results showed that gender differences in retention scores and reasons for leaving were indeed related to the numerical representation
of women and men in course programs. Leaving female-dominated programs seemed to be a different matter from leaving male-dominated
programs.