Evaluation Criteria for a Science Access Program: A Case Study at a South African University
Students not complying with the entrance requirements of mainstream programs in science have become a significant problem in higher education in South Africa. To provide for the needs of these students, foundation access programs have been introduced at m
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Evaluation Criteria for a Science Access Program: A Case Study at a South African University Johann Engelbrecht, Ansie Harding and Marietjie Potgieter
Abstract Students not complying with the entrance requirements of mainstream programs in science have become a significant problem in higher education in South Africa. To provide for the needs of these students, foundation access programs have been introduced at most of the universities in the country. In this chapter, we discuss the success of the Bachelor of Science Four-Year Program (BFYP) at the University of Pretoria. It builds on two papers published on the topic. Engelbrecht et al. (Afr J Res Math Sci Technol Educ 18(3):287–298, 2015) used the BFYP as a case study to develop measuring criteria on how to evaluate academic access programs such as this one. In a different study on the same program, Potgieter et al. (SA J High Edu 22 (4):861–876, 2015) reported on students’ opinions on the program, focusing on their experiences in the preparatory phase, reporting on personal perceptions of its structure, on challenges faced, and on preparedness upon transition to the mainstream program. The distinguishing feature of the study reported here is that six criteria are presented for determining the success of an access program, illustrated using data sourced from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Keywords Access program
Evaluation Disadvantaged students
Background Foundation, extended, and augmented programs, collectively referred to as access programs or academic development (AD) programs, are currently offered in a variety of formats at South African universities (Council on Higher Education 2013). According to funding regulations, all foundation courses should be credit bearing and form part of formal, extended degree programs (Case et al. 2013). The aim of these programs is to offer the opportunity to access university programs to talented, educationally disadvantaged students who fail to qualify for admission to J. Engelbrecht A. Harding (&) M. Potgieter University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017 L.N. Wood and Y.A. Breyer (eds.), Success in Higher Education, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-2791-8_4
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mainstream programs, by initially reducing the pace of presentation and intensifying the teaching approach. Over the last three decades, expertise and background knowledge of AD provision have improved in South Africa, including expertise on the nature of under-preparedness and disadvantage, the format of effective student development initiatives, and the selection and placement of students (Boughey 2010). Central to this enterprise is the need for a well-qualified workforce to ensure economic development of the country as well as the quest for social justice and equity (Boughey 2007; Kioko 2010). The AD model at the University of Pretoria under discussion is that of an extended program. In most extended programs at the University, the courses from the first a
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