An assessment of the Somatology extended curriculum programme at the Durban University of Technology

Abstract

Since the beginning of democracy in South Africa post 1994, the debate in South African Higher Education has progressed from, initially, increasing disadvantaged student access to higher education to improving student success and improving throughout rates and high attrition amongst the previously disadvantaged students. In order to increase access of students from disadvantaged educational backgrounds and improve success in higher education, institutions have introduced additional programmes such as Extended Curriculum Programmes (ECP). The ECP is an alternative curriculum structure that creates the space needed to equip underprepared students with skills to assist them to succeed in higher education. The Somatology programme at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) introduced the ECP in 2005. However, there is limited published research on the impact of the ECP in the Somatology programme since its inception. Using a mixed convergent parallel design, and following a post-positivist paradigm, this dissertation aimed to assess the impact of the Somatology ECP on students’ throughput, success and dropout rates and to understand the general satisfaction of the students placed in the ECP with being placed in the ECP. In order to establish quantitative data, a retrospective analysis of the student records of all students that had been registered at the Somatology programme at the Durban University of Technology for the period 2005 to 2013 was sourced from DUT’s Institutional Management Information System (MIS). The throughput and dropout rates were analysed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and t-test. The data obtained is valid as access to the MIS system is restricted and only authorised DUT staff have access to MIS data. In contrast, the qualitative phase prospectively focus on students who graduated from the Somatology programme via the ECP. A simple random sampling technique was used to select a total of 15 participants who were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data generated was analysed using thematic content analysis. The quantitative analysis found that there was a marked improvement in the throughput rate of students who enrolled via the ECP programme. However, no significant difference was recorded in the throughput (P>0.05) and dropout rates (P>0.05) of the ECP when compared with the mainstream cohort (P>0.05) over the period under study. In addition, the overall success rate of the ECP cohort were comparable to that of the mainstream (P>0.05) showing that the interventions delivered on the ECP were successful for students entering the Somatology programme considered underprepared for higher education. In probing the factors that had influenced the improved throughput rate, a key finding from the qualitative analyses was that participating students attributed their ultimate success to the additional interventions given in the ECP. The ECP students felt they were at an advantage when it came to assessments compared to mainstream. In light of the study findings, this dissertation found that the Somatology ECP was a successful programme as there was an improvement in the academic success of the students in terms of their throughput and dropout rates of the cohort studied.