Abstract

The issue of the low number of graduates in Italy is addressed, by focusing on students graduated in three-year degree courses through an applied statistical study. A comparison among the three-year degree courses of the Faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences of Sapienza University, the whole set of three-year degree courses of Sapienza University and the Italian aggregate of the so-called ‘Degree classes’ corresponding to the degree courses of the aforementioned Faculty is presented. Inspired by the Italian Constitution, the work aims at helping to ‘remove the obstacles’ of a socio-economic nature that prevent the achievement of a three-year degree in a regular or sustainable time frame. A possible match between synthesis and effectiveness is presented via the choice of seven indicators out of the more than 200 available on the AlmaLaurea website. The model is at the service of academic communities and enhances monitoring and analysis. The structure of the data suggests that the socio-economic profiles of graduates in three-year degree programs are strongly linked to factors such as residence, the availability of transportation; it suggests also that the expected success depends very much on the educational background of the students (type of diploma possessed).