This article examines the relationship between the career success of early career academics (ECAs), collegiality, and their intentions to stay in the academic profession. Two different surveys were developed and administered to ECAs (n=68) and other academics (n=219) from a public university in South Africa. The data were analysed using bivariate…

The paper reports on a study that explored selected lecturers' perspectives and discourses on a university's Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) policy in South Africa; particularly what the policy prioritised in terms of purpose and evaluation processes. It also reports on the lecturers' reflections on the additional questions they included in…

Financial accounting poses significant challenges for students at tertiary institutions, often resulting in failure, extended graduation timelines, or dropouts, particularly in their first year of study. This study aimed to identify the obstacles encountered in teaching and learning accounting education within South African universities. The…

The performance of a university depends on departmental activities in a network framework. The university is efficient only if these departments are efficient in their operations. The connection between departments is fundamentally complicated and should be scrutinised to offer more suitable ways for more enhancement. However, to our knowledge, no…

Limited integrated data on the educational and professional accomplishments of the South African TVET sector make it difficult to confidently assess its efficacy. In particular, there is a need to identify the barriers both within and facing this post-school educational field. This conceptual paper therefore asks the question: What factors enable…

This study examined the effect of antecedents of artificial intelligence (AI) on the productivity of academics in higher education. The study was guided by the pragmatic epistemic perspective predicated on the concurrent integrated mixed-method design used with the support of a Google softcopy version of the semi-structured questionnaire (closed…

The public university in the global South continues to be trapped in an existential slumber, struggling to self-define/self-diagnose its purposes, rationales, goals and agenda(s). Despite the emergence of the #FeesMustfall, #RhodesMustFall, and more recently the #Asinamali student protests, South African higher education continues to adopt…

Corporate norms and values, characterised by an enterprise ethos, became the new parameters that defined the academic environment. Academics are increasingly becoming concerned about the commodification of higher education and its impact on academic quality and the standards of quality graduates. The voices of South African academics and their…

This paper examines the idea of 'core business' in contemporary South African public universities. South Africa's public higher education system has global ambitions, but is also highly internally stratified. Drawing on new data from interviews with higher education leaders and government policymakers across a number of South African institutions,…

Remaining motivated is vital to enable continued focus and success for university students. This study examined motivational factors as a driver for success for first-year students at a selected public university in South Africa. The study adopted a phenomenological qualitative research design and participants included 312 first-year students from…

Purpose: The study compares how work-integrated learning (WIL) placement positioning, duration, assessment strategies and environment at three Southern African universities influence engineering students' academic and employability outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a qualitative case study approach that drew on the principles…

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are under pressure to internationalize their campuses through increasing study abroad offerings and international student recruitment. The internationalization of higher education (HE) however, has mostly been theorized from a Euro-American perspective, often not taking into account actors in periphery…

Purpose: Higher education institutions (HEIs) play a key role in facilitating increases in socio-economic growth and economic development. Sustainable development goal 4 (SDG 4): quality education is dedicated to ensuring inclusive and equitable access to quality education and lifelong learning opportunities. This study aims to gain leadership…

This article aims to understand how access, equity and redress challenges are addressed at South Africa's public universities based on their current funding frameworks. Relying on a pragmatic research approach combining desk-research literature review and secondary data analysis, government funding and tuition fees were found to be the primary…

This study examines students' perceptions and preferences for Blackboard at a South African public university. When the South African government, driven by COVID-19, announced the closure of schools in March 2020 for high school learners, home-schooling became the only option despite challenges such as lack of internet access, family support and…