This paper sought to investigate the accessibility of Digital Access Centres as a resource for Unisa Students needing to access services away from campus. The Digital Access Centres are available in open-distance e-learning institutions like Unisa in a quest to reach students. Unisa regional computer labs are always fully packed with students…

This article explores the use of the AutoScholar Advisor System (Auto-Ad) to provide useful learning support analytics for self-mediated student academic support. The study is part of a pilot project for enhancing student success in a four-year undergraduate degree (BEd) programme. Adopting students' self-authorship as an organising framework and…

Recently, the University of South Africa widened access to academic facilities and services at one of its study centres. Although this is laudable and demonstrates a commitment by the university towards its students, it raises these three concerns (1) What is the occupancy rate of the facilities? (2) To what extent are these improved facilities…

As reflective practitioners working in disability inclusion, we constantly work with shifting realities concerning our students, who are not a homogenous group. The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) was a reality least expected in 2020, yet we used our flexible approach to make the transition as smooth as we possibly could. The Disability Unit (DU)…

Confronted by the disruption of work-integrated learning (WIL) placements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Durban University of Technology experienced multiple academic and mental health challenges. This study highlights the impact the pandemic had on students from the Departments of Homeopathy,…

This paper reports on the findings of a study which sought to investigate the impact and efficacy of technology-based counseling offered by the University of South Africa (Unisa), an Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institution. The study focused specifically on student perceptions of the services they had received from professionals based in the…

Enhancing students' learning experience through support structures such as tutorial sessions is essential. Students attending the tutorial sessions within the Discipline of Public Governance have never been given the opportunity to provide feedback on the sessions they have attended. They only get a chance to evaluate their lecturers using closed…

In the last three decades, historically white, liberal arts universities began to admit small numbers of black students from rural communities because apartheid policies relaxed. However, those liberal arts universities had doubts about black students' key skills and knowledge to cope with the demands of higher education. This situation gave birth…

Higher education institutions have been obliged to work extremely hard to ensure their sustainability and growth to meet the ever-increasing demands of university students, parents, and stakeholders. Universities have been under great pressure to remain competitive with a great deal of emphasis placed on being innovative, building auxiliary…

This research aimed to investigate the experiences of students with learning disabilities (LD) at two universities in Sub-Sahara Africa. While universities are increasingly addressing the needs of students with sensory and physical disabilities, there is less emphasis on LD which does not present physically, thus often referred to as invisible or…

Knowing relevant information about students entering the higher education (HE) system is becoming increasingly important, thus enabling higher education institutions (HEIs) to design effective studentcentred support programmes. Therefore, HEIs should ascertain all relevant information about their students before the commencement of the academic…

Since December 2019, the world population has been battling with the SARS-CoV-2 disease (COVID-2019) pandemic. The pandemic has continued to impact negatively on people's livelihoods and also on student's education. This qualitative study established from students in a previously disadvantaged university, their challenges and needs pursuant to the…

The study sought to establish what academic support programmes, policies and systems were in place to support first entering students who were at risk of not succeeding with their studies at a historically disadvantaged rural based South African University. The study examined institutional frameworks for supporting at-risk students and systems…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the transformation disclosures in the publicly available annual reports of South African public universities and to establish the extent to which universities account to their stakeholders about how they have discharged their transformation obligations. Design/methodology/approach: This…

This paper aims to explore the academic hurdles faced by undergraduate students at one university. Using the qualitative research approach, a sample of 31 participants made up of peer facilitators, undergraduate students and programme coordinators was purposefully selected. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions.…