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ERIC Number: EJ1376023
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0258-2236
EISSN: EISSN-2519-593X
Applying Systems Principles to Achieve Greater Integration of Student Support at a Decentralised Institution
Sithaldeen, Riashna; van Pletzen, Ermien
Perspectives in Education, v40 n4 p38-54 2022
The role of student support in enabling successful student outcomes is widely acknowledged. However, student support functions and the structures within which they reside often emerge independently at universities, and are seldom designed with integration in mind, leading to systemic inefficiencies. This paper draws on systems thinking to develop a framework to guide the assessment and improvement of student support. Following an exploratory case study design, we collected data on staff and student perceptions of student support by conducting semi-structured interviews and a focus group in a single faculty within a South African university. These data are analyzed alongside several documents produced by the faculty that refer to, and are part of, student support. We map four student support functions used by students within the faculty. These are: orientation, student advising, peer mentoring, and career advising. The analyses reveal that student support in the faculty does not constitute an integrated system and that this creates challenges in communication, continuity and efficiency of student support within the faculty. This paper argues that by adapting existing support structures to closer approximate an integrated system we can increase the efficiency of student support without the need for complete redesign or a significant increase in resources or staff capacity.
University of the Free State Faculty of Education. P.O. Box 339, Bioemfontein 9300, South Africa. Tel: +27-51-401-2368; e-mail: PiE@ufs.ac.za; Web site: https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A