Students experience intense feelings of discomfort, confusion and even embarrassment at being classified as “different” and an “anomaly” alongside the norm of white academic success.
Students from South Africa’s public school system battle to cope with the rigorous demands of any university degree without genuine, committed support.
How we calculate university drop-out rates must be amended to reflect the changing cohort of university students, who often dip in and out of study and take longer to complete their degree.
Lower completion rates for rural and remote universities are not necessarily a reflection on the quality of the educational experience they provide, but reflect the demographics of their students.
Daniel Edwards, Australian Council for Educational Research
Students feel they are not getting the support they need, despite research showing that the relationships students have with their lecturers can have a big influence over retention rates.