No. 354 - Academic enrolment, careers and student mobility in Italy

Italy has fewer graduates than most OECD countries, because of both a lower university enrolment rate and a modest completion rate. During the last decade, enrolment in tertiary education in Italy has fallen, despite a slight recovery over the last two years. The decline is partly due to the fading of the effects of the Bologna Process, which had led to a temporary increase in the number of students with prior work experience. The reduction in enrolment has also involved younger students, mainly as a consequence of weak demographic dynamics, only partly offset by an increase in immigrants, whose enrolment rates are however very low. Regardless of demographic trends, many students have decided not to enroll in tertiary education for reasons also related to the economic recession, including the sharp drop in household income, the increase in the tuition fees-to-income ratio and the reduction in grants. Enrolment has fallen more noticeably in Southern universities, also reflecting a greater propensity to migrate to the North. Nevertheless, on-time graduations have increased throughout the country and time-to-degree has decreased.