But Canberra's overall drop-out rate is better than the nation's average.

Figures compiled by the federal Education Department reveal one in five UC students withdrew from their first year of bachelor degrees in 2014, the latest year in which adjusted student attrition data is available.

About 11 per cent of first-year students left the ANU in the same year.

University of Canberra deputy vice-chancellor Professor Nick Klomp said the comparison was not meaningful because of the different profile intake between the universities.

"Attrition is a significant issue across the sector and our results are closely comparable to other universities of similar size and student intake with a similar profile, as well as the national average," Professor Klomp said.

"There are many reasons why students leave their course that aren't necessarily related to its degree of difficulty. These may include family, social and financial reasons or even discovering that the course doesn't really suit them or their interests."

Combining the figures of Canberra's two main universities put the ACT's drop-out rate at 17 per cent, 2 per cent lower than Australia's average.

The attrition rate for both universities jumped by about three per cent in the five years to 2014 - the UC's rose steadily while the ANU's dropped some years in this period.

National figures show the percentage of Australian universities students ditching the books in their first year was the highest in a decade, as universities enrol record numbers of students across the country.

And while the ACT did better than the rest of Australia, it was not by much.

The territory's attrition rate dropped by just 0.7 per cent between 2013 and 2014. Before that it had been rising since 2008.

So why are fewer students making it through their first year at university than five or 10 years ago?

For Canberran Timothy Davison, who dropped out of a double degree of economics and environmental studies at the ANU, it had to do with universities enrolling record numbers of students across the country.

"There were a few reasons, but one was that I didn't want to risk four years of study with no guarantee of a job," he said.

"I decided on an electrical apprenticeship as a more hands-on job which I think offers more job security and a variety of career paths."

Elizabeth McAnulty was the lead researcher in an award-winning team that analysed the Education Department data to pinpoint the risk factors for university students dropping out.

She found the three biggest risk factors for students leaving were those who were indigenous or studying by distance or part-time.

Those less likely to abandon their degree had Tertiary Admissions rank over 70, came from a non-English speaking background and were full-time students.

"A big thing was isolation, so if people lived far away from their universities there was a higher drop-out rate," she said.

"Generally Canberra has a [low] dropout rate and that's likely influenced by the fact that there are two universities close to the city and in a supportive area."

The research, which was awarded a 2016 GovHack award for the effective use of open data, found engineering and health studies had some of the lowest drop-out rates, while education had one of the highest.

Universities Australia's annual student experience survey found the top reasons students left university were to do with health or stress, juggling work/life balance, the need to do paid work, their overall workload and financial difficulties.

ANU deputy vice-chancellor Marnie Hughes-Warrington said the ANU's high retention rate (or low attrition rate) reflected their outstanding teaching, great campus experience and motivated students.

"However, the retention rates do not take into account the students who switch courses throughout the year, or students who take leave breaks from their study to work, travel or for family commitments," Professor Hughes-Warrington said.