Contents

• Introduction
• Access
• Students’ Success
• Tracing access and success through policy
• Factors influencing access and success
• The challenges facing higher education in South Africa
• Contextual challenges linked to success
• Student engagement case
• Comparison of various challenges that faces higher education within the US and South Africa
• Opportunities
• Conclusion
• References

Description

Matters concerning South African’s higher education access and success are dominant in higher education’s policy landscape (Boughey, 2012). The challenges of poor student throughput and participation rates are the most evident major problems that are experienced in this sector (Boughey, 2010). Therefore, they bring considerable concerns regarding the system productivity and institutions and governments high costs. More notably, it brings significant issues of equity. Although there have been changes in demography of the South African universities student bodies, poor throughput and graduation rates still impact on students, who are black especially the poor ones. This paper outlines discourses and debates concerning success and access at two key areas: the policy and social context within which higher intuitions function and the work level occurring at these institutions.