Making Known the Real: An Exploration of Academic Advising Practices in a South African Higher Education Context

AbstractThis is the first in a series of papers that emanate from the author’s doctoral research. This research explores academic advising as a profession and academic advisors as practitioners in the South African Higher Education sector; it focuses on advising within the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (FCLM) at a research-intensive public university in South Africa. During the period of investigation, academic advising engagements between students and the author were logged, thus forming a baseline dataset for the doctoral study. In phase one of the data analysis, baseline data were coded and clustered into overarching and subsidiary categories. The baseline dataset consists of 34 subsidiary categories, which form part of 7 overarching categories; it contains 2240 entries based on 1023 consultations with 614 individual students during the three-year period under investigation. Using Archer’s (1995, 2000, 2005) notions about Social Realism as a theoretical framework, the author critically scrutinises the complex nature of the work that academic advisors do in a layered analysis of the baseline data. The author posits that it is through these layers of interpretation that one moves from the layer of the Empirical (experiences), through the layer of the Actual (events), to what Archer calls “the Real”, that is, the layer of mechanisms or underlying driving forces that brings about what happens in the layers of the Empirical and the Actual. This paper focuses specifically on the role of the academic advisor; it postulates inferential observations about academic advising by using the baseline dataset as a way in while keeping the academic advisor central to the discussion

Paving the Road to Success: Reflecting Critically on Year One of an Undergraduate Student Support Programme at a large South African university

Student success, faculty and university throughput, and the need for adequate and appropriate student support remain prevalent issues in the South African and global higher education sectors. Subsequently, the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management at a large South African university applied for Teaching and Development Grant funding in order to address these areas of concern. The grant was awarded and initially intended to help students at risk by implementing appropriate interventions to prevent them from dropping out of university or being excluded. However, being labelled as “at risk” was not well received by students and so the grant holders designed a new programme, adopting a decidedly more holistic approach. As such, the Road to Success Programme was born. The first three months saw those involved conceptualise, plan, and develop strategies, material, and interventions that were implemented in January 2015. The vision was to scaffold and support first-year students, particularly those in danger of being academically excluded, through an integrated network of tutorials, workshops, online support, and a series of resources called Toolkits for Success, in an attempt to help students achieve their academic goals. Despite a number of challenges, ranging from funding shortfalls and food security to students’ emotional wellbeing and resilience, 2015 proved invaluable in terms of refining strategies, gaining insight, and programme growth. Preliminary data shows an increased pass rate for students who engaged with the RSP, with higher pass rates linked to greater RSP attendance. Consequently, this article serves as a critical reflection of the RSP at the end of its inaugural year and will share data, highlight lessons learned and challenges faced, and discuss how the programme has been taken to scale in 2016.Keywords access with success, higher education, holistic support, pass rate, socio-economic challenges, South Africa, student success, student support, success programme, throughpu

Paving the Road to Success: A Framework for Implementing the Success Tutoring Approach

The exponential growth of higher education enrolment in South Africa has resulted in increased diversity of the student body, leading to a proliferation of factors that affect student performance and success. Various initiatives have been adopted by tertiary institutions to mitigate the negative impact these factors may have on student success, and it is suggested that interventions that include aspects of social integration are the most successful. This paper outlines an approach called Success Tutoring (a non-academic tutorial approach used as part of a student success and support programme in the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand), which is underscored by empirical evidence drawn from evaluation data collected during Success Tutor symposia. The authors draw conclusions and make recommendations based on a thematic analysis of the dataset, and ultimately provide readers with a framework for implementing Success Tutoring at their tertiary institutions

Rapid Orientation of Students for Emergency Remote Learning during the Covid‑19 Lockdown

In response to the spread of the Covid‑19 pandemic, the President of South Africa declared a national lockdown that commenced on 27 March 2020. This posed numerous challenges to the higher education sector, one of which was the preparation of students forced to stay at home to be able to study remotely under unique and often unfavourable circumstances. This article outlines and reflects on the conceptualisation, development, and implementation of an online orientation programme aimed at preparing students to rapidly move to emergency remote learning as a result of a nationwide lockdown. Teaching and Learning Centre staff in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at a South African university rapidly created a short online orientation programme in the institutional Learning Management System, using Salmon’s five-stage model as a conceptual framework. The objective was to enable students to acquire the skills and knowledge required for continuing with the university academic programme from 20 April 2020 via emergency remote learning. The orientation programme covered the priority areas of how to get started in emergency remote learning, broad study skills, how to use the required technologies for learning, and managing personal well‑being during social isolation and emergency remote learning. In this article, the conceptualisation and development of the orientation programme is analysed, before reflecting on its implementation, challenges, mitigating measures, and lessons learned. Feedback from students indicates that the majority of students felt more prepared for continuing the academic programme, although they still reported feeling anxious about the many uncertainties. The intervention emerges as a useful strategy for helping students transition during a crisis and contributes to the understanding of how to prepare students for rapid transition to Emergency Remote Learning

Paving the Road to Success: A Framework for Implementing the Success Tutoring Approach Danie de Klerk,** Tshepiso Maleswena*** & Andrew Jones

The exponential growth of higher education enrolment in South Africa has resulted in increased diversity of the student body, leading to a proliferation of factors that affect student performance and success. Various initiatives have been adopted by tertiary institutions to mitigate the negative impact these factors may have on student success, and it is suggested that interventions that include aspects of social integration are the most successful. This paper outlines an approach called Success Tutoring (a non-academic tutorial approach used as part of a student success and support programme in the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand), which is underscored by empirical evidence drawn from evaluation data collected during Success Tutor symposia. The authors draw conclusions and make recommendations based on a thematic analysis of the dataset, and ultimately provide readers with a framework for implementing Success Tutoring at their tertiary institutions.Keywords higher education; non-academic support; student success; student support; tutorial approach; tutorial framewor