Evaluation of student support services at the Namibia University of Science and Technology Centre for Open and Lifelong Learning

Quality and effective student support service (SSS) is a critical demand in the ever-changing landscape of distance education. It is common knowledge that distance education students need continuous support during their studies in order to cope with academic demands while attending to other key activities. This study set out to evaluate the implementation of SSS at the Namibia University of Science and Technology Centre for Open and Lifelong Learning (NUST COLL) at different regional centres across Namibia. The objectives of the study were to: identify problems and challenges experienced with the current implementation of SSS, determine the needs of the distance students and propose recommendations for the improvement of SSS at the regional centres. In an attempt to realise the objectives of the study, the study incorporated both quantitative and qualitative research design to collect data, by making use of questionnaires, open-ended questions and interviews. The participants included 8 regional coordinators (RC) who were purposively selected and 109 distance students who were selected through stratified and convenience sampling techniques from seven COLL regional centres. It was evident from the findings that most students opted for distance education as it allows them to work and study. Furthermore, many students have been studying for many years without getting any qualification. While NUST was providing different SSS, the findings brought to light some challenges such as the shortage of technological tools, understaffed regional centres, and unavailability of support services on weekends and public holidays and lack of collaboration between marker-tutors, lecturers and regional face-to-face tutors. It is proposed that the current model of SSS should be redesigned to respond to challenges facing distance education students at the regional centres. A model for implementation of SSS was developed to pave the way for effective implementation geared towards reducing the dropout rates and increase success rates. Key terms: Implementation of student support services, technological tools, model for implementation, regional coordinators, academic demands, increase success rates, regional centres, distance education, regional centres, and dropout rates.Educational Leadership and ManagementD. Ed. (Education Management

The effectiveness and efficiency of student support services in open distance learning institutions in Africa: a desktop review

Today, most higher education (HE) institutions throughout the world are shifting towards an Open Distance Learning (ODL) system. The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has also prompted conventional institutions to move towards this system. This shift requires a greater investment in student support services, especially if the institution strives to attract new students, retain current ones, improve their overall performance, increase students’ progression rates and employability. A desktop review was conducted to ascertain the effectiveness and efficiency of these services and establish any possible direct or indirect association with students’ academic achievements. Studies conducted between 1990 and 2020 were examined using Google and Google Scholar, Scopus, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, Science Direct, Sabinet and the National Research Foundation. The review revealed that student support services’ effectiveness and efficiency in ODL institutions in Africa are measured by the success, failure, dropout and attrition rates at these institutions. The effectiveness and efficiency of these services cannot be measured in isolation, but in terms of the philosophical and educational perspectives underpinning the education system. Moreover, dropout rates should be viewed in light of economic and educational landscapes. There is a dearth of literature supporting a direct association between the effectiveness and efficiency of student support services and students’ academic outcomes. The researchers recommend that empirical studies be conducted to provide more evidence-based information instead of speculation in the absence of empirical facts. Student support services’ effectiveness and efficiency need to be planned and implemented at the level of pedagogy and practice, while policy could offer an environment for planning.Health Studie

Social protection through higher education: experiences of Community Work Programme participants studying for a teaching qualification by distance education mode.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.Poverty and unemployment have led to the creation of social protection programmes by governments, which include public works programmes. In South Africa, the Community Work Programme (CWP) employs rural individuals living in poverty for a limited number of days each month as part of a second economy strategy project. To improve the chances of these participants to find full-time employment in the primary economy, the CWP partnered with North-West University and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to pilot a programme for selected participants to enrol for a Grade R teaching diploma by distance education. CWP participants in the Ugu District in the province of KwaZulu-Natal were selected. While studying, the participants worked at rural schools near their homes as CWP participants. This study sought to explore the experiences of the participants in the pilot before the project went to scale. Informed by the critical paradigm, the study used the extended case method, drawing on Bourdieu's field theory and Archer's concepts of structure, culture and agency for analysis. The study found that while rural participants experienced barriers in terms of physical and epistemic access to higher education, with adequate support many succeeded in earning their qualification and finding employment in the primary economy as teachers. Inherent challenges included the digital illiteracy of participants; travel distances and transportation costs; communication between partners and participants in the pilot; symbolic violence related to the language of teaching and learning; instability in the implementing structure resulting in diminished support for participants; and bureaucratic inefficiency and lack of alignment on the part of the partners to the programme. The exercise of agency was key to participants' success. The Work Integrated learning modules demonstrated complementarity between the requirements of the formal diploma qualification and the CWP requirement for useful work, although the increase in workdays as a teacher assistant reduced the time available for participants to study. The thesis contributes to the debate on Sustainable Development Goal 1 on strategies to end world poverty. The thesis argues that public works programmes can contribute to reducing unemployment with deliberate structuring of support and mentorship to enable students to acquire the higher education habitus required to succeed