Abstract:
Internationally, one of the key challenges facing higher education institutions is to match expanding enrollments and more diversified student bodies with enhanced retention and success rates. Nowhere is this imperative more pressing and topical than in South Africa, for a number of reasons. First, the majority of its students are severely underprepared for higher learning. This is mainly the consequence of the ongoing legacy of apartheid and the predominantly substandard primary and secondary education system in South Africa. After 15 years of democratic rule, the postapartheid government has been unable to rectify these inequalities and inefficiencies significantly. Most students emanate from disadvantaged backgrounds and face challenging socioeconomic and financial circumstances that, in combination, threaten student retention and success. While the participation of black South African students has expanded dramatically over the past two decades, no corresponding increase in black faculty and staff and no meaningful shift in institutional cultures have been evident.

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Enhancing retention and success in South Africa