Almost a quarter of university students (22% overall) do not continue their degree after the first year. Of these, 13% definitively leave university, while the remaining 9% choose to change careers, a figure that has remained stagnant for a decade. The study for the 2023-2024 academic year also indicates that dropout rates remain higher among men than women, a gap also observed in general academic performance, which stands at 80% of approved credits.

The CYD Foundation report highlights major differences based on the teaching modality. The first-year dropout rate is significantly higher in distance learning universities, reaching 44.7%, compared to 17.1% in face-to-face institutions. Furthermore, abandonment is slightly higher in public universities (22.7%) than in private ones (20%). In the case of public distance learning universities, the dropout rate soars to 56%.

By field of study, degrees with a strong vocational character such as Education and Health show the best results, with dropout rates below 10% in careers like Medicine and Veterinary. Conversely, Informatics, Engineering, Industry, and Construction are among the fields with the lowest performance rates and highest levels of abandonment.