Effects of gap-year on students’ time to degree

Previous research work analyses the gap-year and its effect on students. In this study the main idea is to link the gap-year with the students’ performance. As a measurement of this performance, the time spent from the students to reach their degree is used. This study uses an Italian dataset of students who took their degree from 2010 to 2015, in five-year faculties. The study is split in two parts: in the first one we analyse the duration of the studies, from the enrolment to the degree; in the second one we use a dummy variable to differentiate students who reach their degree in five years or less and students who had an extensions of their studies. In the end, our study finds that gap-year students spent less time to reach their degree.