Conceptualisation and Early Implementation of an Academic Advising System at the University of Cape Town

AbstractAcademic advising is a High-Impact Practice that supports better outcomes for all students, particularly those encountering structural barriers to success. This paper presents a case study of processes followed in a three-year project (2018–20) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) to conceptualise, design, and start implementing an academic advising system. Three goals were formulated:1. to develop conceptual capacity and a theory of academic advising;2. to develop an academic advising model responsive to institutional context and student need; and3. to develop structures, relationships, tools, and resources to implement a coherent system.An informed grounded theory approach was used to analyse baseline data of existing support and advising at the institution. Data was collected through document and desktop research, interviews with stakeholders, and student focus groups. A monitoring and evaluation framework was developed to track and reflect on progress against the goals. Iterative cycles of data collection, analysis, and reflection took place as implementation started. A key finding was that UCT’s advising structures incline towards a decentralised faculty-based model, complemented by centralised support services that encompass advising functions. Low levels of integration were found, as well as inefficient duplication of services. To address these challenges, the conceptual and operational capacity of the academic advising team needed to be advanced. This was done by assembling a multidisciplinary team, undergoing professional training, and by running a journal club. A promising theoretical approach that emerged was a capability approach to academic advising. A shared model of academic advising was found to be best suited to the institutional context and a three-tiered model operationalised by faculty, professional, and peer advisers, as well as by automated advising tools, was designed. Implementation started through pilot projects. During Covid-19, innovative concept and centralised systems development that connected students to institutional resources, enabling them to practise agency and supporting their ability to achieve despite unprecedented structural barriers, demonstrated the viability of the capability approach adopted for steering further development of the system

Exploring first-year, rural students computer acquisition experiences at an urban university in South Africa

Higher Education in South Africa still reflects its apartheid past. Historically white institutions of higher learning remaining well resourced, most of their students are white and these institutions still retain their colonial activities. Black students who attend these Higher Education Institutions do not perform as well as their white counterparts as a result of the inequalities that still exist in South Africa. In South Africa, tertiary institutions are tasked with delivering skilled and computer proficient graduates as required by industry. These graduates are key to South Africa's participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will ensure the country's economic growth. Gaining entry to higher education institutions has improved for black students. However, there are differentiated divides which exist within each aspect of these institutions that limit black students' engagement and full participation at previously white higher education institutions. Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially at historically white institutions, has become a key component of their teaching and learning practice. However, the digital divide is most evident amongst black, rural students who often come into this learning environment with little or no computer experience. Their often, white privileged peers are mostly computer proficient. The study explored how underprivileged students experience the process of acquiring computer skills. It unpacks their perceptions of themselves in relation to their peers, the implications that this has on students' current journey at the University of Cape Town and their future computer use within a learning environment. The case study, focused on first year, rural, black students, involved the use of a mixed method approach. Data were collected using a questionnaire, an observation and interviews. Critical Discourse Analysis is used to understand the data. Foucault's view of Critical Discourse, namely, the concepts of Power/Knowledge, Subject/Trust are used to understand how the structures and waysin which society createslevels of power and being within society are viewed. Credence is given to the opinions of some people in society and not to others through these Power/Knowledge and Subject/Trust discourse. Critical Discourse seeks to explore the social injustices inherent in society and to encourage it to be more equitable. The research shows that the acquisition of computer skills for first year, rural, black students at a historically white university is not easy, especially for those who come with no computer knowledge. They lose their self-worth and may initially become computer averse even though they realise the value of computers. The gap between students who come in without computer skills and the computer proficient students grows as they progress. The lack of computer skills limits students without computer experience from fully benefiting from the array of opportunities computers bring to the learning environment. They only acquire the skills taught at the university, which limits their further acquisition of computer skills. Further research in this area is required to fully understand the rural students' experience