• Login
    View Item 
    •   NWU-IR Home
    • North-West University Journals
    • TD The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa
    • TD: 2012 Volume 8 No 1
    • View Item
    •   NWU-IR Home
    • North-West University Journals
    • TD The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa
    • TD: 2012 Volume 8 No 1
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Academic preparedness of students – an exploratory study

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    06 Du Plessis et al.pdf (7.117Mb)
    Date
    2012
    Author
    Du Plessis, L
    Gerber, D
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    The high level of student failure, accompanied by an increased drop-out rate, is problematic in higher education. It is especially a concern in programmes with the subjects of Mathematics, Accounting and Science. Over many years, models of student admission and selection have been widely researched both internationally and in South Africa. Research indicates that in the academic domain, underpreparedness results from a combination of a lack of English proficiency, mathematical ability and effective study skills. In view of the above, and government policy directives to broaden access in the scarce skills areas to increase student throughput, foundation provision was introduced for students of Commerce, Information Technology, Business, Mathematics and Informatics courses at the Vaal Triangle Campus (VTC) of North-West University (NWU) in 2010. The question at that time then arose as to what criteria should be used for placing students in the extended programme. The placement of first-year students in appropriate programmes should be done with sensitivity to enhance academic success but, at the same time, should not ‘label’ students as underprepared. This paper provides perspectives on the selection criteria available for predicting academic success/preparedness, and then reports on students’ own experiences. An action research study was conducted on the academic achievement of two cohorts of first-year students at the VTC of NWU. The quantitative results of the performance of first-year students in their core modules are compared to the results of predictive tests written after admission. The results provide valuable insight into the placement of students.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10394/6894
    Collections
    • TD: 2012 Volume 8 No 1 [11]

    Copyright © North-West University
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Theme by 
    Atmire NV
     

     

    Browse

    All of NWU-IR Communities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsAdvisor/SupervisorThesis TypeThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsAdvisor/SupervisorThesis Type

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Copyright © North-West University
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Theme by 
    Atmire NV