A hybrid model integrating recurrent neural networks and the semi-supervised support vector machine for identification of early student dropout risk.

Background: Student dropout rates are one of the major concerns of educational institutions because they affect the success and efficacy of them. In order to help students continue their learning and achieve a better future, there is a need to identify the risk of student dropout. However, it is challenging to accurately identify the student dropout risk in the preliminary stages considering the complexities associated with it. This research develops an efficient prediction model using machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques for identifying student dropouts in both small and big educational datasets.

Methods: A hybrid prediction model DeepS3VM is designed by integrating a Semi-supervised support vector machine (S3VM) model with a recurrent neural network (RNN) to capture sequential patterns in student dropout prediction. In addition, a personalized recommendation system (PRS) is developed to recommend personalized learning paths for students who are at risk of dropping out. The potential of the DeepS3VM is evaluated with respect to various evaluation metrics and the results are compared with various existing models such as Random Forest (RF), decision tree (DT), XGBoost, artificial neural network (ANN) and convolutional neural network (CNN).

Results: The DeepS3VM model demonstrates outstanding accuracy at 92.54%, surpassing other current models. This confirms the model's effectiveness in precisely identifying the risk of student dropout. The dataset used for this analysis was obtained from the student management system of a private university in Vietnam and generated from an initial 243 records to a total of one hundred thousand records.