Higher Technical Professional Courses (CTeSP), known as "short courses," were created to meet the needs of the job market and often serve as a bridge to bachelor's degrees. These post-secondary level courses aim to provide specialized professional training in a specific area.
However, the dropout rate for these courses at the end of the first year has increased significantly, rising from 19% to 29% between the academic years 2015/16 and 2022/23. This growth represents a significant challenge for the higher education system in Portugal.
A recent analysis points to failures in the monitoring of curricular internships by educational institutions as one of the causes for this high dropout rate. Internships are a fundamental component of CTeSP, and inadequate supervision may be contributing to student demotivation.
The growing dropout rate raises questions about the quality of support offered to students and about these institutions' ability to retain students and ensure successful completion of these professional courses.
