Título: Student support to enhance student living and learning at a South African University
Autor: Coetzee, Isabella
Resumen: [EN] Quantitative measures show that the higher education system in South Africa
remains inefficient and this reality poses significant challenges to all
universities. The Faculty of Humanities at the Tshwane University of
Technology has added a Student Support Programme to the existing
institutional student support structures. In this article, the author reflects on
the experiences of student supporters who were appointed in 2014 and 2015
for the enhancement of students’ living and learning to improve success in
the Faculty of Humanities. The findings indicated that this programme has
indeed improved the academic performance and personal circumstances of
hundreds of students. The under-preparedness of students entering South
African higher education institutions was highlighted as a major obstacle in
academic performances. The majority of students who are supported by this
programme experience intense personal and social challenges that are by
and large brought about by and as the result of severe financial needs. The
student supporters were adamant in their departing statement that much
more had to be done over and beyond the general and existing approach and
support structures at the Tshwane University of Technology to support these
students.
Bas Cerdá, María Del Carmen; Lerma-García, María Jesús; Matarredona Desantes, Nuria; Oltra Badenes, Raúl Francisco; Pérez-Esteve, Édgar; Silvestre Cerdà, Joan Albert(IATED, International Association of Technology, Education and Development, 2019)