Analyzing student dropout factors in engineering courses using a fuzzy based decision support system

The majority of higher education institutions are concerned with keeping students enrolled until they graduate. This article aims to explore why engineering students do not complete their degree studies and drop out their studies without completion. The sample consisted of 275 students enrolled in a faculty of engineering. To interpret the data, sociological concepts of structure and agency were utilized. This study outlines 12 factors that influence the decision to drop out of course by a student majoring in engineering. A decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method used to analyze the result. Further this DEMATEL method merged with fuzzy and intuitionistic fuzzy sets and it is observed that intuitionistic fuzzy reduce the randomness and uncertainty in expert judgment and produce better result than DEMATEL and fuzzy DEMATEL. Amongst the twelve factors, the financial and domestic constraints came out to be the most influential one that drives a student to leave engineering studies with a score of 2.45, while lack of enjoyment/interest appeared as the least influential effect with a score of -0.91. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.