Master’s of engineering management : graduation rates lagging behind growth rate

Abstract: The Engineering Management degree at master’s level has been taught at a South African higher education institution for more than 20 years. The student enrollment numbers have seen significant growth over the last decade, with a year-on-year growth varying from 20% to 39% each year. The coursework master’s program consists of a number of lectured modules and a research component which accounts for fifty percent of the program. The students are very successful in completing the lectured modules, but they are less successful in completing the research component. The main problem is that students complete the lectured component within the required time, but when they start doing the research component they either take longer than the allocated time or they never reach completion..