Dropout of students who entered college in 2018 was greater in distance learning than in person

OData from the Higher Education Census show that for every 100 students who enrolled in distance learning courses in 2018, only 34% remained enrolled in 2020. In face-to-face courses, it was 53%. Considering the raw numbers, of the 1.4 million students who enrolled in distance learning undergraduate courses in 2018, only 481 thousand were still enrolled two years later. In-person courses, 2.1 million entered in 2018, 1.1 million remaining in 2020.

Despite the high dropout rate, enrollment in distance learning has reached records. In 2022 alone, around 3 million freshmen from remote education reached high school, while only 1.6 million entered in-person education. Inep’s forecast is that by 2024 the total number of students enrolled in distance learning courses in Brazil will exceed the number of students enrolled in on-site courses.

MEC data also shows a portrait of graduates. According to data from Enade 2022, in EaD, the highest rate of completion is from courses with concept 2; In this category, there are 207 students graduated per course. In face-to-face classes, the highest number of graduates is in concept 5 courses; there are around 63 students trained per course. Find out more about the EaD profile in =igualdades da Semana.