This article seeks to question the concept of attrition in higher education in Latin America. For higher education institutions that design pro-retention strategies, it is necessary to assume a precise definition of the phenomenon, allowing a narrower magnitude. Therefore we seek to provide information in two ways: first with the distinction between retirement and attrition, and second, through the differentiation between retention and completion. We also break with disciplinary perspectives and propose three types of factors associated with completion and removal in higher education, factors that act concomitantly, that's why it was necessary to address this problem from a multidisciplinary perspective.