Student Affairs and Services during Covid‑19 in Africa: Mitigating the Pandemic’s Impact on Student Success

Abstract

The Covid‑19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges that present obstacles to equitable learning and development in higher education in various parts of the world. African higher education and Student Affairs and Services (SAS) are faced with a set of challenges that are in part related to the resources within the institutions and in part due the sociocultural context into which the institutions are embedded. It is with this background that this study explores the impact of Covid‑19 on SAS in Africa, as part of a wider lens on SAS across the globe. The study was conducted with an online survey which generated 781 responses of Student Affairs practitioners from across the globe, of which 118 were from the African continent. The data show SAS’s critical role in mediating the various domains within and beyond the higher education institution that impact on student success. The domains that impact on student success include the students’ personal experiences, the public domain, the sociocultural community and familial milieu, and the institutional/ SAS domain. Thus, this article discusses SAS’s critical role in mediating the impact of these four domains on the student living and learning experience. The purpose of this article is to discuss the data and to use the data to gain insights into the way SAS has played a role in mitigating the impacts of Covid‑19 in four domains relevant for student success. Based on our findings, a systemic-contextual model is proposed that illustrates the relevance of four domains that need to synergise for students to be successful. Our data suggests that while SAS and universities do a great deal to support students in their learning, factors in the public domain, factors in the sociocultural community and familial milieu need to be conducive to learning to enable more student success in Africa.

Looking back and looking forward

“…The emphasis on connection, pluralism and engagement within professionalization programs is an essential foundation to student programming, development, support, and services throughout international settings. Professionalization will need to embed its programs firmly within this framework in order to equip students to recognize social injustice and act in responsible and sustainable ways (Schreiber et al, 2021).…”

Perspectives from across the globe

“…IASAS has been involved in other research projects to increase global scholarship, for instance, guest-editing an issue of the Journal of Student Affairs Africa (JSAA) (Schreiber et al, 2017) and Supporting Students Globally: Trends & Perspectives for Student Affairs and Services by Osfield et al (2016). Most recently, the IASAS membership was asked to be part of two research projects, one on COVID-19 and SAS (Bardill Perozzi et al, 2022; and the other on the SDGs (Schreiber et al, 2021).…”

“…Global Association meetings began in 2020 as a response to COVID‐19 (Schreiber et al., 2020, 2022). It was fitting that IASAS would be the organization to convene 25 associations from across the globe to discuss the common concerns of the global impact of COVID‐19 on higher education and SAS.…”

Student Affairs and Services Mediates the Context for Students’ Living, Learning, and Development: Lessons from COVID-19

“…We assert that a social justice frame guides the global practice of SAS and the domains impacting students' experiences must be understood so that appropriate programmes and services can be developed and delivered to best support a range of students. Greater understanding of students most impacted by the elements within these domains can also positively impact institutional success in terms of increased student access, retention, and completion (Schreiber et al, 2021).…”

“…Public support affects students differently and varies significantly across world regions (Schendel & McCowan, 2016). In some regions, a lack of infrastructure related to food, water, electricity, shelter, and access to basic health and social services impairs students' ability to persist and succeed in their studies (Schreiber et al, 2021).…”