Students at Queensland universities have some of the worst dropout rates in the country, says Good Universities Guide QUEENSLAND is the university dropout state, with institutions failing to keep students on course compared to rivals in the rest of the country. The state's universities had one of the highest rates of dropouts in Australia after the first year of study according to The Good Universities Guide 2014, released on Tuesday. Griffith University, James Cook University, the University of Southern Queensland and the University of the Sunshine Coast all scored just one star in the 'Student Retention' category, putting them in the bottom 20 per cent of universities for retention. Central Queensland University and Queensland University of Technology rated two stars, while the University of Queensland scored three stars. Bond University, a private institution, was not rated. Only three other universities in the country scored a single star. The ratings were measured by domestic school leavers starting an undergraduate degree in 2010 and seeing how many were still studying the course 12 months later. The Good Universities Guide's data manager Ross White said admitting students with lower ATAR or OP scores was no excuse for poor student retention rates. "Universities should be striving to set a standard for retaining students, especially those that enrol students who need additional levels of support in their first year of study," he said. Griffith University Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor Sue Spence said the guide used its own methodology with data from 2011. It only accounts for school leavers and Queensland universities have a significant number of non-school leavers in their undergraduate programs. For instance, at Griffith the number of non-school leavers is around 40 per cent. "Griffith this year established a team of Student Success Advisers who assist and advise undergraduate students who are having difficulties completing their studies," Professor Spence said. USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill suggested that retention rates are generally lower in smaller regional universities for a number of reasons, including the greater financial pressures placed on regional students, the longer distances regional students need to travel and higher proportions of mature age students. He also said a "stepping stone" factor means around a quarter of students who leave USC go on to study at other universities. "Many of these students do one year here at home on the Sunshine Coast and then go elsewhere to do a course that we may not offer," he said. This is an important community service. USQ Vice Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas said assessments based on retention rates were "difficult" because a range of factors had to be considered. "For example, universities with high proportions of adults studying part-time tend to have lower apparent retention rates because of these students' study patterns," she said. A 'drop-down' effect can also occur when students enrol in several courses for the semester only to find that their work and personal circumstances impact on their ability to manage their workload. JCU Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor Sally Krift said the university was "proud" to have a "very high percentage of non-traditional students," including from Indigenous and low socio-economic backgrounds. Each university said help and support was available for students who were considering dropping out. Professor Krift said JCU was using resources including "learning analytics" to understand the levels of engagement among students and offer the necessary help if needed.