El documento realiza una revisión bibliográfica sobre el estado actual de la educación virtual en Colombia y los factores asociados a la deserción estudiantil en esta modalidad. Como hallazgos durante el proceso de búsqueda de literatura, se encuentra que, durante el periodo 2000-2012, en Colombia se inscribieron 38.136 estudiantes en esta modalidad, lo que demuestra la inmensa acogida de estos programas y su impacto. Pese a la cantidad de inscritos, las tasas de deserción son elevadas. Según el Sistema para la Prevención de la Deserción de la Educación Superior, en 2013 hubo un total de 48.850 estudiantes que abandonaron los programas de educación a distancia, lo que representa 38.2% de deserción y, por consiguiente, un índice de retención de 61.8%. Estas cifras apuntan la necesidad de realizar estudios que determinen los factores que conducen a los estudiantes a tomar la decisión de desertar. Al respecto, en el contexto colombiano, los estudios sobre este fenómeno se encuentran en etapas muy tempranas y la mayoría han tomado modelos teóricos fundamentados en la educación a distancia-tradicional.
Virtual education has taken hold within the Latin American educational system as a methodology that provides vocational training to people whom, for various reasons, cannot access classroom education. This paper aims to review the literature on the current state of virtual education in Colombia and the factors associated with dropout in Virtual Learning. As findings during the literature search, we encountered that during the period between 2000 and 2012 in Colombia 38,136 students were enrolled in this modality, demonstrating the immense acceptance of these programs and the impact thereof. However, despite the number of enrolled, dropout rates are high. According to the System for Dropout Prevention in Higher Education, in 2013 there were a total of 48,850 students who dropped out of distance education programs, which represents 38.2% attrition and therefore a retention index of 61.8%. These figures suggest the need for studies to determine the factors that lead students to make the decision to desert. In this regard, the Colombian context studies of this phenomenon are in very early stages and most have adopted theoretical models grounded in distance-traditional education. However, some factors that may be associated with dropout in this modality are related to technical aspects and socio-cultural characteristics of students.