Student transitions to and within university were recently unpacked at the annual Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) Symposium hosted by CPUT.

The Regional ECP Symposium held on the Bellville Campus was themed, “Responsive and inclusive curricula and pedagogic practice in ECP: Understanding transitions to and within university”.

The ECP provides students with extra time as they are allowed an additional year in which to complete their studies.

Delivering the keynote address, UCT’s Dr Bongi Bangeni and Prof Rochelle Kapp said their study revealed that as students from disadvantaged backgrounds transitioned into university they have to negotiate their learning and identity.

“The data illustrate the ways in which student learning is often impeded by the limitations on choices within degree structures,” says Kapp.

Also shown was how decisions made at high school level continue to impact students’ pathways on entry, at senior levels and even after the successful completion of the first degree.

Their study recommended that understanding schooling and its impact on students’ experiences within university as well as turning classrooms into spaces for active engagement may improve student success.

Besides attracting delegates from the four universities in the region, the symposium was also attended by academics from the Unisa, the University of Johannesburg and Wits.

Welcoming the delegates to CPUT, Prof Anthony Staak, DVC: Academic, said dysfunctional schooling yields students who are under-prepared for university education.

“Accept under-preparedness and adjust the curriculum accordingly,” advises Staak.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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The new Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof Andile Mji, believes that teaching and learning with technology and empowering the next generation of Educators in South Africa will be the Faculty’s contribution towards accomplishing CPUT’s vision.

“I see CPUT as one of the great Universities of Technology in the country,” said Mji. “The vision of being Africa’s leading Smart University of Technology, globally renowned for innovation, with graduates that shape a better world for humanity, attracted me to the university.”

Mji, who joined CPUT during this University term, has spent several years in higher education (HE), having worked at the University of Transkei (now Walter Sisulu University), University of South Africa (Unisa) and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).

Mji added that he found that everyone at CPUT had been very welcoming. “Some colleagues from different environments within the university have wished me well,” he continued. “I noticed in all their well wishes and welcoming statements that they said welcome to the CPUT family. So, my first impression is being acknowledged as a family member.

He believes that his experience in HE means that he is familiar with and thoroughly knows the South African HE landscape.

“I am a Mathematics Education Professor with extensive publications and supervision in the area, he added. “I have worked at the management level as an Assistant Dean for 16 years at TUT. In addition, l possess an MBA from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Finland. I suppose then my contribution will be in focused leadership meant to take the Faculty of Education (and the University) to greater heights by ensuring that we excel in our core business of teaching and learning, research as well as community service.

He joined TUT in 2005 as a professor at Unisa, where his last designation was associate professor. “At TUT, I worked as an assistant dean all my years.”