Abstract
A concerted institutional approach to improving student outcomes resulted in a facultybased, student-focussed model for student success at the University of Pretoria (UP). The student academic development and excellence model (SADEM), developed by a Steering Committee for student success, employs developmental research and systems theory and targets all years of undergraduate study while prioritising the first year. Underpinned by a systemic metric framework and continuous improvement, interventions comprise institutional and faculty–based projects that target high impact modules and diverse students to improve retention, pass, and throughput rates. Though context specific, it offers solutions to international concerns - lack of a systemic approach; initiatives located in peripheral units; initiatives located outside academic disciplines and lack of participation by academic staff and a focus on retention of limited student subgroups instead of retention, pass, graduation and throughput rates of all students. The circumstances that led to its development, its key features and application at the UP, ways it can be adapted to other contexts, as well as its limitations and possible future directions are presented.
Highlights
A concerted institutional approach to improving student outcomes resulted in a facultybased, student-focussed model for student success at the University of Pretoria (UP)
1975); the Longitudinal Departure Model (Tinto, 1993); and psychological perspectives, including attribution theory and expectancy theory, highlighting a number of constructs related to student retention
This paper reports on the circumstances that led to the development of the model, its key features and how it responds to the four problem areas, its application at the UP and ways it can be adapted to other contexts
Summary
The first year experience and the improvement of student outcomes, notably retention rates, has seen phenomenal growth internationally. Key factors in the external environment, firstly a culmination of twelve years of poor schooling for the majority; an undifferentiated post-school system and the yet to be established predictive validity of the new National Senior Certificate examinations for university study (CollierReed, Wolmarans & Smit, 2010; Klingbeil, Mercer, Rattan, Raymer, & Reynolds, 2004; Mabizela 1994; Scott, Yeld & Hendry, 2007) severely impact on strategies that universities must adopt to bridge the school-university gap They demand rigorous management of teaching and learning, a focus on high-impact practices, and making clear strategic choices that serve the needs of diverse student subgroups and national priorities. It concludes by outlining the limitations of the model and possible future directions
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