Speaking at the recent Unisa Management Lekgotla, Professor MH Mogashoa, Acting Executive Director of Unisa’s Department of Tuition Support and Facilitation of Learning (DTSFL), unpacked the key elements of tuition support and facilitation of learning that contribute to engaging and activating the university’s identity as a comprehensive, open, distance and e-learning (CODeL+) institution.

Prof MH Mogashoa

Work-integrated learning

‘A 2021 diagnostic investigation,’ said Mogashoa, ‘indicated that earlier findings by the Council on Higher Education regarding shortfalls in the implementation of work-integrated learning (WIL) at Unisa had not been adequately addressed. This has been successfully remedied and managed by the establishment, also in 2021, of the Quality of Assuring of WIL Project.

He explained that the project team works in close collaboration with the heads of academic quality assurance and enhancement in the colleges, and that the main objectives are to promote the effective implementation of WIL in these colleges and ensuring compliance.

Digital Access Centres: Engaged learners

Mogashoa stated that as a CODeL+ institution, digital access by Unisa’s students is critically important. ‘We need to support students in areas characterised by a lack of access to technology and poor connectivity,’ he said. ‘Our Digital Access Centres (DACs) cater for students in remote and rural areas where access to most forms of resources is a challenge. Unisa currently has 25 DAC partnerships, and we are in the process of securing more such partnerships this year.’

Student module evaluations: Locating students at the centre of teaching and learning

‘CODeL+ is about students being at the centre of the teaching and learning experience and process,’ said Mogashoa. ‘To give effect to the principle of student-centredness, students are included in the process of the quality assurance of curriculum development and revision, through student module evaluations (SMEs). These evaluations contribute greatly towards enhancing the quality of the students’ experience of learning and learner support.’

Online modules’ teaching and delivery

Mogashoa said that as of 2022, the Directorate of Curriculum Development and Transformation (DCDT) has implemented the blueprint and roadmap for developing modules fully online. Looking to the future, he said: ‘As per the roadmap, 50% of all module offerings at Unisa will be offered fully online by 2030. The target is to develop 300 fully online modules per year – this year, DCDT will exceed this target by an impressive 100 modules.’

Importantly, Mogashoa said that module design will be integrated with principles related to, among others, decoloniality, Africanisation and multilingualism.

The role of critical reviewers in module development and quality assurance

‘The development of all modules includes remunerated external reviewers,’ explained Mogashoa. ‘As an additional step, DCDT contracted a panel of internal and external experts who conducted a reflection on practice (RoP) exercise in 2020. Based on the resultant report, DCDT developed an RoP improvement plan which is currently being implemented.

Diagnosis, support and retention of our students

‘Once students register,’ said Mogashoa, ‘we assess their academic readiness using the Student Preparedness Diagnostic Assessment Tool which measures linguistic competence, discourse competence, and visual and numerical competence.’

Early alert system

Mogashoa said that to address the issue of at-risk students faced by all universities, Unisa has adopted a predictive analytics program to identify students who face the risk of dropping out. ‘This is part of our early alert system,’ he said, ‘which is aimed at ensuring that students are supported much earlier in the academic semester/year.’

First-year digital support services

Mogashoa explained that a first-year support site is located within the myUnisa portal, housing all resources and materials developed to ease the first-year experience. All students entering the Unisa environment for the first time are linked to this platform.

Cohort analysis study of students who dropped out in 2021

Mogashoa announced that a cohort analysis will be conducted to understand the academic, institutional and personal reasons that could have caused students in the 2021 cohort to drop out. ‘This is especially important given the new challenges brought about by the pandemic,’ he said, ‘but also the effect of moving university processes to online platforms.’

Orientation of academic and allied professionals

‘All new academics attend a compulsory orientation course,’ said Mogashoa, ‘giving them a quick general overview of various aspects of their teaching and learning journey at Unisa and to introduce them to the university’s systems in support of CODeL+’

* By Philip van der Merwe, Editor, Department of Institutional Advancement