This is the first time this question on consideration of withdrawal was included for all respondents to StudentSurvey.ie, and the first time this type of mixed-methods analysis was utilised to interpret the data.

It is hoped that the results shed light on the difficulties that challenge students to the extent that they consider leaving their programme of study. It is hoped that the results will be beneficial to the participating higher education institutions in their work to understand the experiences of their students and for addressing some of these challenges so that future students may not face the same dilemmas.