Teaching the students we have : two perspectives on first year students at the University of Johannesburg and the UJ first year experience initiative

Over the past decade it has become clear that the South African Higher Education sector is marked by low participation rates coupled with low levels of student success. Although a lot of money, time and effort have been spent in trying to improve student success rates, no real systemic improvement has taken place. This paper argues that key elements of any strategy aimed at improving student success should include that it should “reach the classroom” (Tinto, 2012); it should be systemic in nature and it should be based on a thorough knowledge of the student population the institution serves. The paper then reports back on the results of research undertaken at the University of Johannesburg as well as on the First Year Experience that has been implemented at the institution since 2010. Results reported in the paper includes data from the Student Profile Questionnaire (SPQ) (used since 2006 and containing more than 30 000 records) and the Initial Student Experience Survey (ISES) (used since 2010 and containing about 20 000 records). Some of the findings from these questionnaires confirmed previously held beliefs while others were completely surprising. The data were used to inform the planning and implementation of the University of Johannesburg’s First Year Experience initiative which is aimed at assisting the institution to more effectively “teach the students it has”