Seizing the COVID-19 Conjuncture: Re-positioning Higher Education Beyond the Pandemic

Wangenge‐Ouma, Gerald; Kupe, Tawana

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-88234-1_2

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This may be due to the fact that most HDUs are located away from the major cities. Wangenge‐Ouma and Kupe (2020) have observed that universities in marginalised areas face constraints with regards to generating income from commercial activities. UCT (located in the metropolitan city of Cape Town) was able to generate more third‐stream income than income from tuition fees from 2016 to 2020 while SU (in an affluent suburb of Stellenbosch) was able to do so in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020.…”

Section: Discussion and Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access, equity and redress: Towards a sustainable funding framework for public universities in South Africa

Mbhalati

2024

Review of Education

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This article aims to understand how access, equity and redress challenges are addressed at South Africa's public universities based on their current funding frameworks. Relying on a pragmatic research approach combining desk‐research literature review and secondary data analysis, government funding and tuition fees were found to be the primary sources of funding in most universities, while third stream income from universities' own commercial activities lagged far behind. Secondary data from the public universities' audited annual financial statements for the period 2015 to 2020 further revealed that investment source income superseded third‐stream income in most universities. There is consensus in literature on the pivotal role of equity‐based funding mechanisms such as the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in providing tuition cover and living expenses for students from poor households. Based on the agency theory, government funding is used to influence public universities to pursue transformation goals. The general trends observed in various countries is the inclusion of equity‐based indicators in a funding model to ensure that students are not denied the opportunity for university education solely based on their poor backgrounds. It is argued in this paper that the NSFAS remains an appropriate vehicle to achieve South Africa's transformational goals in its public universities.Context and implicationsRationale for the study The rationale for this article is to provide exploratory evidence on the link between funding and transformation at public universities.Why the new findings matter The new findings matter because public universities cannot escape the imperative to address the challenges of transformation in developing countries with a history of unequal distribution of financial resources.Implications for policy makers, university management, funders and students Policy makers can use the findings from this article to inform how the National Student Financial Aid Scheme can be streamlined to ensure it continues to achieve its mandate. Based on the findings of this study, university management can develop more interventions to assist at‐risk students, particularly those from disadvantaged families succeed in their study. Funders can use the findings of this study to budget for and direct funding to academically deserving at‐risk students. Finally, students could benefit from these findings as the study identifies challenges to academic success as well as relevant interventions.

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Section: Discussion and Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access, equity and redress: Towards a sustainable funding framework for public universities in South Africa

Mbhalati

2024

Review of Education

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“…The latter statement indicates that some students struggled to access online resources, which are contributed to existing issues among students from disadvantaged communities, such as limited social support, non-conducive living conditions, psychosocial factors, and high costs to access devices and data (Motala & Menon, 2020;Wangenge-Ouma & Kupe, 2020). Wilczewski, Gorbaniuk and Giuri (2021).…”

Section: Van Der Westhuizen and Hlatshwayomentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards flexible learning and teaching: Lessons learned from educator and student experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic

Van der Westhuizen,

Hlatshwayo

2023

pie

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This discussion explores student and educator academic experiences of online learning and teaching (OLT) at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose was to report on lessons learned during the pandemic, and how this may contribute to a flexible blended learning and teaching (BLT) approach within higher education post the pandemic. While most South African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) used a BLT approach prior to the pandemic, the face-to-face component was used as the primary method of learning and teaching, with the online component used as a support or ‘add-on’ to face-to-face practices. We reflected on student social workers and their educators’ academic experiences during the pandemic, and how these experiences may guide the planning and implementation of a stronger combination of online and face-to-face learning and teaching in higher education settings going forward. The findings describe study environments that influenced OLT, academic participation and performance during the pandemic when no face-to-face learning and teaching took place, OLT resources and support for OLT during the pandemic, and suggestions for BLT that could support flexible learning and teaching practices at HEIs post the pandemic. The discussion concludes with some recommendations for aspects to consider when planning and implementing a BLT at HEIs post the pandemic.

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“…Across studies that have been conducted in the South African context of higher education, preparedness for COVID-19 is conceptualised as pre-planning for the pandemic before it strikes [15][16][17][18]. Response to the pandemic refers to the delivery mode adopted when the pandemic strikes [19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

Section: Conceptualisation 131 Preparedness and Response To Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparedness and Response to COVID-19 Disruptions and Learning Challenges for Students with Disabilities in South Africa: A Systematic Review

Ndlovu

2023

Sustainability

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The present study utilised the systematic review method to report on the learning challenges faced by students with disabilities as a result of inadequate preparedness for COVID-19 and the response to the pandemic in the context of institutions of higher education in South Africa. The studies reviewed indicated that, although there were variations between institutions, South African higher education institutions were inadequately prepared for COVID-19 and, as a result, the response to the pandemic involved emergency remote teaching. For students with disabilities, it was revealed that the limited support and the changes to the way learning was taking place in institutions posed challenges during the pandemic. Limited access to content knowledge was an issue even before COVID-19, and this was exacerbated during the pandemic. Conclusions reached showed that there were challenges imposed by the pandemic in addition to those that existed before, which were only exacerbated and magnified by COVID-19. Practical ways are suggested in which anticipative and transformative resilience could be utilised by all stakeholders in institutions of higher education, to pre-prepare for pandemics. Ways of applying a universal design for learning in the “new normal” to enhance learning for all students, including those with disabilities, also contributed in a practical way to the conclusions.

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Seizing the COVID-19 Conjuncture: Re-positioning Higher Education Beyond the Pandemic

Cited by 13 publications

References 17 publications

Access, equity and redress: Towards a sustainable funding framework for public universities in South Africa

Access, equity and redress: Towards a sustainable funding framework for public universities in South Africa

Towards flexible learning and teaching: Lessons learned from educator and student experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic

Preparedness and Response to COVID-19 Disruptions and Learning Challenges for Students with Disabilities in South Africa: A Systematic Review

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