Ephraim Mhlanga

Background

The National Association of Distance Education and Open Learning in South Africa’s (Nadeosa) is an association of both public and private higher education institutions that seek to increase access to an affordable, cost-effective and quality education through open and flexible modes of delivery. Saide was instrumental in the founding of this organisation in 1996 with the initial aim of promoting access to quality lifelong learning. The founding members were unanimous in their belief that distance education methods could play a major role in addressing South Africa’s educational challenges. Over the years, this belief has remained constant; the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic has further proven this belief right. Committed to promoting access to high quality open and flexible distance education, Nadeosa offers a variety of services to members, keeping up to date with the latest developments in the field of Open and Distance Learning (ODL). Services include workshops, sharing through annual conferences, and providing resources and tools relevant for distance education.

Since its founding 27 years ago, Saide has continued to play a coordinating role in steering the Nadeosa organisational activities and has housed the Nadeosa secretariat.

This year, with the Covid pandemic thankfully behind us, the Nadeosa annual conference could again be a face-to-face event. Hosted by the University of Pretoria from 25 to 26 May, the conference had a primary theme of Student Success. Sub themes included, First Year Experience, Learner Analytics, Ethics of Using Student Data, Academic Student Advising, Student Support Service, and Graduate Employability. The conference explored these themes and sub-themes within the context of ODL in higher education, with specific focus on the South African higher education landscape.

In the South African context, student success is primarily defined as the timely completion of study programmes, which poses significant challenges for both public and private higher education institutions. Timely completion (or expected throughput rate) refers to full-time students finishing a three-year diploma/degree within three years or a four-year programme within four years. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of students manage to complete their studies within the designated timeframe, leading institutions to retain a large number of students for an additional year or two. This practice not only impacts the public cost of producing university graduates, especially considering that the majority of students in higher education institutions are publicly funded, but also hinders the admission of new students. Consequently, student success has become a national priority in higher education, prompting government and institutions to make concerted efforts to address this issue.

Since most students enrolled in distance education programmes are either employed full-time or have other commitments, timely completion for a three-year diploma or degree is six years, for a four year diploma or degree is eight years. Unfortunately, a very high proportion of students drop out during this extended duration of study, leading to a low throughput rate.

In response to the challenge of low throughput rates, the Nadeosa conference focused on enhancing student success in public and private universities, including distance education providers. The conference aimed to facilitate the sharing of ideas and experiences related to this theme.

Nadeosa conferences are open to all interested participants from countries in the SADC region and beyond. While the online conferences held during the pandemic allowed for a greater number of delegates to participate, the two-day face-to-face conference provided intense and enriching engagement. The event featured four keynote speakers, a panel discussion, and 24 papers presented in concurrent sessions. These sessions showcased a variety of studies focused on student support and success in the context of ODL in South Africa. Some examples of the papers presented include "Post-COVID-19 Online Learning in the Private Higher Education Distance Learning Niche: First-Year Student Experiences and Perceptions in Durban," "Student Support for Incarcerated Females in Open and Distance Learning Contexts," "Towards an Understanding of Student Success: Lecturers' Definitions in the Private Higher Education Sector," and "Artificial Intelligence Tools for Student Advising in South African ODL Programmes.

 

Reflections on keynote presentations

The conference commenced with a keynote address from Dr Alan Amory, the project lead of the Saide Siyaphumelela (We Succeed) student success initiative (https://siyaphumelela.org.za/). He emphasised that the initiative aims to foster a student-centered culture within the South African higher education system. Its objective is to enhance student completion rates and reduce disparities in race and gender equity. Alan also emphasised the significance of data collection and analysis to inform evidence-based interventions that contribute to achieving greater social justice in higher education.

Alan's keynote presentation set the conference's tone by underscoring the centrality of student success in the country. He highlighted the growth of the Siyaphumelela network, which started with five public universities and has expanded to 17 over the past nine years. As part of this initiative, institutions prioritise the collection and analysis of data to identify factors that impede student success. These insights guide the implementation of data-informed interventions. For instance, project institutions gather and analyse student biographical data to gain understanding of enrolled students and their potential challenges. Based on these profiles, institutions establish support mechanisms such as academic advising, mentorship e, and supplemental instruction.

The availability of data on student academic performance, particularly at the first-year level, has allowed institutions to identify high-risk modules with large numbers and elevated failure rates, which hinder student progression. Institutions employ various strategies to address this issue and enhance student advancement. The examples provided represent a fraction of the interventions being implemented by Siyaphumelela institutions to promote student success. Many of these initiatives have already yielded positive outcomes. For instance, at one project institution, data analysis revealed that a significant number of students were unable to progress to the second year due to failing a compulsory first-year Mathematics module. To rectify this issue, the institution rescheduled the Mathematics module to the third year of study, successfully resolving the problem.

Alan's presentation also emphasised the importance of collaborative problem-solving within the network of universities, rather than as isolated institutions. This collaborative culture is a cornerstone of the Siyaphumelela initiative among project institutions contributing to achieving greater social justice in higher education system.

Professor Chika Sehoole, the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria, delivered a presentation on the crucial aspect of graduate employability. Like in many sub-Saharan African countries, graduate unemployment has become an increasingly pressing societal issue. While there are multiple causes for this problem, one of the main factors recognised is the misalignment between university curricula and the demands of the job market. Professor Sehoole stressed the importance of aligning university curricula with job market requirements. Additionally, he emphasised that personal integrity is a key attribute for graduates. In his presentation, he highlighted how a lack of integrity can undermine success in society, even for individuals with commendable academic achievements. Therefore, fostering integrity in students should be an integral part of imparting employability attributes.

This keynote presentation exemplifies how employability is increasingly acknowledged as an essential component of student success in the South African context. Concurrent sessions during the conference also featured presentations that focused on graduate attributes as a vital aspect of student success. Some of these topics included analysing the sufficiency of graduate attributes for the post-COVID-19 workplace and exploring the direct impact of the South African first-year student experience on graduate employability. Professor Sehoole's keynote address thus, effectively set the stage for delegates to engage in broader discussions about student success throughout the event.

Dr Britta Zawada, the Director for Institutional Audits at the Council on Higher Education (CHE), presented the upcoming quality assurance framework for higher education institutions, scheduled to be implemented in 2024. She discussed the introduction of an integrated yet differentiated external quality assurance system (EQA) for higher education, which takes into consideration the diverse contexts of individual institutions. The notable feature of this new framework, distinguishing it from the current one, is the transfer of responsibility for quality enhancement from the Council on Higher Education (CHE) to the higher education institutions themselves.

This shift in responsibility is expected to have significant implications for bolstering internal quality assurance at the institutional level. Additionally, the new framework will emphasise the utilisation of digital technologies to harness their advantages. Institutions will be encouraged to develop quality assurance dashboards, enabling the monitoring and assessment of quality assurance within their respective institutions.

The Council on Higher Education (CHE) will utilise the data from these institutional dashboards to evaluate the status of quality assurance at each institution. This information will guide the council in identifying the specific support interventions required by each institution.

Ms. Mandisa Cakwe, the Director of the University Capacity Development Programme (UCDP) at the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), delivered the final keynote address on how DHET promotes and supports student success within the national higher education system. The UCDP is an implementation programme that focuses on three key areas: student development, staff development, and programme/curriculum development. Its objective is to foster a structured and integrated approach to improving student success through three main sub-programmes: Institutional Grants, University-led Collaborative Projects, and Nationally-led sub-programmes.

An example of a University-led Collaborative Project is the Teaching Advancement in Universities (TAU) Fellowship Programme, which aims to enhance the quality of teaching across the sector. The Nurturing Emerging Scholar Programmes (NESP) serves as an example of a nationally-led Sub-Programme. NESP is designed to develop young scholars and ensure that universities have well-qualified staff as many current professors are expected to retire in the coming years.

Ms. Cakwe encouraged institutions to leverage the collaborative projects facility and implement systemic improvement initiatives to enhance student success. Responding to her suggestion, conference delegates urged the Nadeosa Executive to draft a proposal for a collaborative project involving the participation of Nadeosa as an organisation. The level of involvement would depend on the nature of the collaborative project. For instance, a project focused on interpreting the Higher Education Practice Standards for distance education might involve Nadeosa executive members, coordinated by Saide.

The panel discussion on student success was moderated by Ms. Jenny Glennie and featured Mr. Lekau Rachidi from the University of South Africa (Unisa), Dr Tebogo Tsebe from Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU), and Professor Nthabiseng Ogude from the University of Pretoria (UP). This session provided a valuable platform for sharing the student support initiatives implemented at the three universities.

During his presentation, Lekau Rachidi highlighted how Unisa tracks students to identify those who are underperforming in specific modules. These students are then provided with support through a referral system that extends even to regional levels. Additional student support initiatives at Unisa include digital skills support for both students and staff, online presence of tutors, weekly online lessons for modules with low pass rates, and assistance with writing skills.

Dr Tsebe from SMU emphasised that all five schools within the university implement student support initiatives. These initiatives encompass first-year experience programmes, student mentorship programmes, supplementary instruction, and life skills programmes. The university relies on data analytics to identify students in need of support and determine the appropriate type of assistance required.

Professor Ogude (UP) reflected on her involvement in the Global Forum for Student Success (GFSS) over the years. The GFSS is a diverse programme that facilitates expert-led virtual dialogues among leading global universities, focusing on student-centered and evidence-based practices through workshops, panels, and presentations. The forum aims to foster collaboration within the education sector to develop future-ready global citizens.

It is noteworthy to observe a shift in student success interventions in South Africa since the advent of democracy, as highlighted in the presentation. Prior to democracy, key interventions included personal counselling, tutorials, language and academic literacy programmes, bridging programmes, and adjustments to the first-year curriculum. Between 1994 and 2008, support services prioritised academic and non-academic support, such as food, accommodation, and financial assistance. With the introduction of the Siyaphumelela initiative, project institutions have embraced holistic student support guided by data analytics. Student success has also become a crucial consideration in institutional planning at project institutions, a trend attributed to the Siyaphumelela initiative.

In conclusion, the alignment between the keynote, concurrent, and panel presentations at the conference effectively conveyed the prioritisation of student success in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in South Africa. While private institutions may not directly participate in the Siyaphumelela initiative, they are also adopting best practices regarding student success, which are being established through the initiative. There is an anticipation that the culture of student success cultivated in Siyaphumelela institutions will gradually spread to Nadeosa institutions, thereby enhancing the quality of ODL throughout the country.

Nadeosa conference delegates