Permanence in Distance Higher Education

The topic of student retention in higher education is challenging, in face-to-face as well as distance modalities. The pursuit of indicators and instruments that lead to an understanding of what makes students stay in education is a challenge. Using the work of Spady (1971), Pascarella (1985), Ethington (1990), Tinto (1997), García Aretio (2002), Tinto & Pusser (2006) e Cabrera et al. (2006) as a theoretical foundation, a quasi-quantitative study was carried out to study the most relevant variables for retention in distance education. To that end, two factors were taken into consideration, namely: student dedication and program quality. As a result of this study, the indicators considered by the students to be the most relevant for their staying in the program were identified. This work aids the elaboration of projects and policies that contemplate aspects that help mitigate dropout in higher education, a serious problem with a high social cost