Establishing a First-year Academy at
Stellenbosch University (SU), South
Africa: A comprehensive and strategic
institutional project
Ludolph Botha and Antoinette van der Merwe
[email protected] and [email protected]
Stellenbosch University
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Stellenbosch University (SU) Quick Facts
• Research-based University
• 22 569 students (2006)
• Undergraduate: 15 149
• Graduate: 7 420
• 2 352 permanent staff members
• Ten Faculties (Colleges/Schools)
• Four Campuses
• University town
• One third in University housing (residences)
• One third in town (private housing)
• One third commuting
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Overview
• Some statistics
• National
• Stellenbosch University
• Conceptualisation of First-year Academy in 2006
• Brief and process
• Outcomes and recommendations
• Implementation: Some notable developments in
2007:
• Establishment of TLC; Use of technology; Early
assessment; Awareness raising; Welcoming
programme; Prediction model; Activities in
progress
• Lessons learnt
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National Statistics: Progress of 2000
Cohort of First-time Entering
Undergraduates
SU
All SA
Universities
All SA
Technikons
Total
Dropped out at end of
2000
14%
25%
34%
30%
Dropped out at end of
2001
6%
9%
13%
11%
Dropped out at end of
2002
4%
7%
11%
9%
Total dropped out
2000-2002
24%
41%
58%
50%
Graduated in 2002 or
2003
50%
26%
19%
22%
Studying in 2003 but
not completing
26%
33%
22%
28%
Total in cohort
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245
59 000
61 000
120
000
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Source: Higher Education Management Information System,
SU First-year Students – Some
Facts
• Almost 70% of SU’s 4000 first-year students of
2006 obtained an A or B aggregate in final
school year
• SU performs detailed cohort analyses in terms of
retention, throughput rates and graduation rates
• Average drop in academic achievements from
final school year to first year: 27%
• Drop can be attributed to school grade inflation
• Students from previously disadvantaged
schools experience greater drops in performance
at university level than students from advantaged
schools
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Retention Rates of First-year
Students*
* First-time entering
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• Brief
Conceptualisation of First-year
Academy: Brief and Process in 2006
• Obtain complete picture of existing support for first-year students
• Conceptualize new and creative interventions/plans to improve
student success
• Determine how to structurally handle/position FYA
• WHO?
• Role-players: senior academics from faculties and academic support
units
• HOW?
• Coordinating Committee that reports to the VR(Teaching)
• Working groups: (1) Prediction model and use of technology; (2) Top
students and improving the culture of learning; (3) New foundation
programmes and access issues; (4) Early warning system, class
attendance, dealing with large classes and involving parents; and (5)
Research (including literature overview), practices at other
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Brief and Process in 2006
(cont.)
• Points of departure: Vision 2012; Optimizing all students’
potential; Systemic/holistic approach; Take cognizance of
good practices at other universities; Research-based;
Total institution ownership; Take existing initiatives into
consideration; Improving excellence without
compromising standards
• Continued consultation and communication
• WHAT?
• Continue BAU
• Conduct institutional survey of existing initiatives
• Conduct research – literature overview, external and
internal research initiatives
• Working groups focus on new and creative initiatives
• Conceptualize report
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Outcomes and
Recommendations
• Report with clustered recommendations
• School preparation, admission, bridging
• Alternative access routes, foundation/extended
degree programmes, tutor/mentor programmes
• Curriculum and programme implications
(including e-Learning)
• Technology to support initiative, including
prediction model, tracking, early warning
• Provision for top students and learning culture
improvement
• Structural issues - creative and collaborative
model
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Implementation: Establishment of
TLCs in Faculties
• Develop joint ownership for First-year
Academy among faculties, Academic Support
and students
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Implementation: Using Technology
to Support the Student Lifecycle
Potential
Prospective
student
Prospective
student
maties.com
PACE
Academic offering:
e-Calendar
Prospectus
Brochures
Admissions formula:
Self test
Marketing survey
Test against profile of
successful student
Financial advice
Housing advice
E-Application
E-Assessment
Career readiness
survey
Psychological
e-consultations
E-Registration
E-Bursaries
First year
student
Postgrad
student
mymaties.com
Alpha-baseline
Career Mentorship
survey
Careers website
E-Mentor system
Omega survey
First-year Academy
Early e-test
Extended Degree
Programme (EDP)
Alpha progress survey
Early Support Questionnaire
Tracking system
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Senior
student
Alumnus
matiesalumni.net
Career mentor
Employer in the
Careers website
Implementation: Early Support
Questionnaire
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Implementation: Early
Assessment
• Rationale: Get to them before it’s too late
(early warning)
• A mark loaded for all 1st year modules after six
weeks
• Marks available via student and staff portals
(online step-by-step user guide)
• Letters to postal address (parents)
• Discussion of marks in Teaching and Learning
Coordination points (TLC)
• Campus-wide awareness and wide variety of
14 new and innovative interventions
Early Assessment Menu
Available to lecturers and academic
management
Available to academic management
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Programme Context
1
4
5
2
3
6
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Faculty / Programme
Summary
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Problem Module
Summary
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Implementation: Awareness
Raising
• Articles in Campus newspaper and Electronic
Bulletin
• Presentations to Council, RMT and Senate exec
• Meetings with deans, wardens, student leaders
• Targeted communication: Staff and student portals
• FYA webpage on Centre for Teaching and
Learning’s website
• Booklet for first generation parents and
prospective students
• FYA theme at annual in-house Conference on the
Scholarship of Teaching
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Implementation: Welcoming
Programme
• Ten years in existence
• Seven day programme
• Common goal of 2007 Programme: Academic
matters as focus in context of FYA
• Buy-in from student leadership,
management, academic and support staff
• FYA multimedia presentation for both
students and parents at Official Welcoming
Function
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Implementation: Study Skills
Programme on Intranet
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Implementation: Prediction Model
• Final school mark plays a role in first-year success,
BUT:
• Final school mark only explains 35.92%
variance in first-year performance
• Variance increases with addition of more
variables (qualitative as well as quantitative)
• Alpha Baseline Questionnaire (completed by
all first-year students) provides valuable
qualitative data
• Prediction model utilizes ten qualitative variables
combined with seven quantitative variables
• 7.47% increase in prediction value of 2006
cohort to 43.39%
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Implementation: Further Activities in
Progress
• Restructuring of Mentor-tutor Programme
• ResEd
• Exciting new initiatives in University housing to
promote learning culture
• Revisiting curricula and programme outcomes
– especially for first-years (including
integration of generic skills)
• Special faculty initiatives aimed at first-year
lecturers
• Further research
• Large first-year classes, class attendance,
changing school curriculum and impact on first23 year curricula
Lessons Learnt
• “Nothing new under the sun!”
• Bottom line: teaching and learning central
to 1st years’ success
• Multitude of interdependent variables
impacting on student learning that requires:
• systemic/holistic approach
• continued research
• prediction model to determine success variables
• early warning
• continuous tracking and feedback
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Lessons Learnt (cont.)
• Function before structure:
• existing structures and budgets for sustainability
and buy-in
• in line with existing policies
• But, it’s a process ...
• Value of correlating results of own research
initiatives with national and international
literature
• Institutional engagement on process level:
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•
•
•
•
•
•
communication
management
representation
consultation
working groups (creativity and value of sharing)
readiness institutionally
Concluding remarks
• World-wide concern about first-years’ performance
– Stellenbosch decided to take focused action
• Early impact
• Raised awareness of first-year needs
• More actions taken within faculties to support first-years
• More cooperation between faculty members and academic support
staff
• Early assessment leading to scrutiny of assessment practices in
general
• Critical success factors include:
• Sustained management support needed
• Establishment of TLC’s in faculties
• For further discussion:
• EA marks: reliability of marks taking into account that it’s low
stakes assessment and not intended for streaming of students
• Getting to them before it’s too late vs learned helplessness
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Any questions?
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