# SDA-Vis: A Visualization System for Student Dropout Analysis Based on Counterfactual Exploration
## 5 Case Studies
### Inter-Office Cooperation  
The second case study shows how SDA-Vis can help identify specific patterns and issues in cases where some offices should take immediate action. More specifically, a domain expert wanted to demonstrate how particular patterns influence the university's early semesters. Several studies show that early dropouts in university years is not conjectural. They are influenced by several factors such as internal factors related to the student, the lecturer, and academic tutors, and factors relating to the demographic of the student [59]. Internal factors such as perceptions of course difficulty and the motivational and persistence level are abstract and difficult to measure. However, it is possible to consider risk factors linked to demographics, barriers, and family conditions. In this vein, this case study aimed to analyze the counterfactuals of different careers during the first semester of university. To perform this analysis, domain experts considered students in the first semesters of eight programs (four programs were not considered because they had fewer than five dropout students in the first semester). The initial intuition was to look at the counterfactuals' most critical variables. Figure 8 shows various students and their counterfactuals obtained with SDA-Vis. The first column shows the _Dropout Analysis dual view_, while the second column presents their respective counterfactuals represented by the _Counterfactual Exploration view_. For each course, in the _Dropout Analysis dual view_, the domain expert selected the students and counterfactuals with the highest probability of becoming non-dropout (top right-hand corner of each projection). In contrast, the _Counterfactual Exploration view_ revealed some synthetic alternatives; the variables were ordered based on their degree of influence (from left to right). The relations between socioeconomic factors and counterfactuals were pronounced in the _Counterfactual Exploration view_. During the exploration of the most relevant characteristics, as well as some academic variables such as GPAs, there were some characteristics that were very relevant (highlighted in dotted boxes), such as _Age_ (green), _HDI_ (pinkish), _Scholarship_ (orange), and _Poverty_ (blue). Concerning _Age_, SDA-Vis suggests increasing some values, for instance, for the first student of Business management (from 18 to 20). The age range of full-time students enrolled in the university was 16-24. According to the experts, in some cases, youth is linked to decisions regarding pursuing academic choices. Therefore, these students need more encouragement from an academic tutor or suitable professional. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline  & & **Gender == ’M’** & **Gender == ’F’** & **Total** \\ \hline Most Feasible & **01** & 77.4\% & **79.3\%** & 78.3\% \\ Most Factible & **02** & 32.2\% & 26\% & 29\% \\ User Selection & **03** & 79.9\% & 80.7\% & 79.9\% \\ Average & & 63.2\% & 62\% & 62.4\% \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Impact analysis of certain counterfactuals, suggested by the tool and selected by the expert. Figure 8: Summary of dropout students’ analysis for eight different programs in the first semester of the university. Some variables have a higher influence on their counterfactuals. Regarding HDI and poverty (relating to the origin and the residence), these variables are directly related to the influence of parental economic support and social barriers. SDA-Vis suggested increasing HDI, reducing poverty, or both in most cases. According to the domain expert, good environmental factors (higher HDI and lower poverty) significantly decrease dropout risk, especially in the first semester. Finally, scholarships are related to the university's financial support. SDA-Vis suggested that it is essential to support these students financially to avoid dropouts. In many cases, a balance exists between improving HDI and providing a scholarship. This means improving the HDI, reducing poverty, or providing a grant.