Experiencing studies at the University of Joensuu - Modelling a student cohort's satisfaction, study achievements and dropping out

The purpose of the study was to examine a student cohort's study experiences and emotions, satisfaction with the learning environment and changes in them during the four years of studies, on the one hand, and the influence of these factors and some background variables on learning outcomes and retention of studies, on the other. In addition, we wanted to find out how students' commitment to their studies and their study orientations influence the overall satisfaction and drop-out rates in different fields of education. The design and the problems were based on the previous research reviewed in the theoretical part and on the practical reasons to develop higher education policies. The answer…