The general problem addressed by this dissertation is the low academic success of students—measured in terms of study progress, dropout, and perceived competence (Braxton et al., 2000; Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Entwistle & Peterson, 2004; Terenzini & Pascarella, 2005; Tinto, 1993)—in universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. Study progress refers to the number of credits attained by students at the end of their first year, after the deadline for exams, re-sits, and assignments. Dropout occurs when a student does not continue the same programme in a following year. On a programme level, dropout is the percentage of students in a cohort that leaves during or at the end of the first year and does not continue in the following year (cf. Berger & Lyon, 2005; NVAO, 2012). Students who switch within or between institutions are not regarded dropouts on the institutional or system level, but current designs of accreditation programmes only account for dropouts and study progress on the programme level.
