University Registrations and Enrolments 2015

Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training

18 February 2015

• University Enrolment Planning and Spaces for First-time entering students in 2015

• Status of Registrations as at 10 February 2015

• Central Applications Clearing House (CACH)

• NSFAS and its challenges during registration

• Student unrest over the Registration Period

• Teaching Development Grant initiatives to improve first year experience

• Way Forward

Presentation Outline

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• The Department negotiates enrolment figures with universities in cycles.

• The previous cycle resulted in a national enrolment plan and output targets for the 2011 to 2013 academic years. For the current cycle, a longer term planning view of 6 years with a mid-term review, in order to ensure better integrated planning at universities was implemented.

• The planning for the 2014 – 2019 academic years has been negotiated. The Ministerial Statement on Student Enrolment Planning 2014/15 to 2019/20 for Universities (Sept 2014) indicates targets for the system and individual institutions for this cycle.

• The slides show enrolment figures for the total number of First Time Entering (FTEN) students and total enrolment in scarce skills areas.

Enrolment Planning Process

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HEAD COUNT  

Actual (Audited)

Actual (Audited)

Projected target

Projected target

Ave annual increase

2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 - 2015

Total FTEN 169 765 158 389 195 745 204 450 6.39%

Engineering 13 659 13 904 15 653 15 792 4.95%

Life and Physical

Sciences 10 606 11 785 12 386 12 534 5.72%

Animal and Human Health

8 213 8 344 10 110 11 040 10.36%

Teacher Education

20 042 21 798 18 263 21 166 1.84%

First Time–Entering (FTEN) Students and FTEN Students Enrolled in Scarce Skills Areas (2012 - 2015)

)

HEAD COUNT

Actual (Audited)

Actual (Audited)

Projected target

Projected Target

Ave annual increase

2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 - 2015

Total enrolments

953 373 983 698 1 002 110 1 020 190 2.28%

Engineering 69 657 73 518 71 714 73 147 1.64%

Life and Physical

Sciences 39 742 42 811 42 172 43 012 2.67%

Animal and Human Health

40 697 44 046 44 779 48 250 5.84%

Teacher Education

94 637 103 917 99 097 106 286 3.95%

Total Enrolment in Scarce Skills Areas (2012 - 2015 Academic Years)

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• Registration closing dates vary across the system from 23 January 2015 to 31 March 2015 for first semester modules and year courses

• Registrations are of 3 types: year courses; first semester; second semester (individual headcount enrolments in the academic year can occur at different times in the year – therefore final preliminary registrations for the 2015 academic year will only be available in August 2015; audited data will be available in October 2016)

• Currently institutions have not yet finished registering and therefore the registration numbers are not yet available

Registration in 2015

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• In 2015, the CACH service operates in January and February. The service operates from Mondays to Sundays, 8am to 8pm.

• CACH is accessed via a toll-free number at 0800 356 635 or by sending an SMS with name and ID number to 49200

• CACH is also accessible from the website: http://cach.dhet.gov.za

• The CACH toll-free service line provides five options:

1. Application support (CACH Centre)

2. Financial support (NSFAS Centre)

3. Career support (Career Centre)

4. Artisan support (NADSC Centre)

5. PSET support (DHET Centre)

Central Applications Clearing House (CACH)

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• The CACH service is now in its third year of operation.

• The service is growing consistently each year:

- The 2013 placement ratio was 5%

- The 2014 placement ratio was 21%

• The preliminary placement ratio for 2015 will be

conducted in March after the service closes and will be

confirmed later in the year after second semester intakes

are made.

• The placement ratio is set to grow through expanded and

intensive interaction with all universities, TVET colleges

and SETAs.

Central Applications Clearing House (CACH)

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• The CACH service has expanded from a service for

prospective university students to a Post-School

Education and Training (PSET) service.

• The prospective applicants may not find place in a

university and need to consider all other possible and

related programmes in PSET.

• CACH therefore aims to capture prospective applicant

information in order to compile a CACH Register (CR) for

each university, TVET college and SETA in South Africa.

Central Applications Clearing House 2015

• To date, CACH Centre has handled 17 122 calls as

compared to 10 908 calls in 2014.

• The users of the service range from those who

achieved a 24% average to those who achieved a 93%

average for their Grade 12 final examinations

• A CACH Register is provided weekly to all universities,

SETAs as well as TVET colleges until the end of

February

• The service also provides qualification specific lists to

private providers who have had those qualifications

verified.

CACH 2015 Progress to Date – 6 Feb 2015

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CACH 2014 (blue) and 2015 (red) Call Volume Comparison

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CACH Channels Utilisation

CACH User Profile:Regretted versus Not regretted

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CACH user profile: Endorsement Distribution

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CACH user profile: Grade 12 Final Examinations Results

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CACH user profile: Learning Fields of Interest

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CACH user profile: Provincial Distribution

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CACH User Profile: Race

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• The CACH service must remain responsive to the needs of prospective applicants and institutions.

• The service experienced a significant spike in call volumes this year, which indicates a significant increase in its use. Use of the service is expected to grow again in 2016

• The most important success indicator will be the placement ratio. This ratio is expected to improve year on year as trusting relationships, with institutions are formed through the provision of accurate and timely data.

• The Department will continue to expand and enhance CACH as the prototype for the development of the full Central Application Service, and the focus on supporting the full PSET through CACH will be further enhanced for 2016.

CACH going forward

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• NSFAS’s new loans and bursaries management system became operational on 7 October 2013 and is being tested with 6 universities and 5 TVET colleges (in 2014 and 2015).

• The closing date for 2015 NSFAS online applications for 5 pilot universities (excluding UNISA) was 16 January 2015.

• 2015 NSFAS online applications for the TVET colleges closed on 30 January 2015.

• NSFAS started notifying the majority of pilot institutions students on application results on 20 January 2015.

• Closing dates for application from continuing students at non-pilot institutions varies from June to October 2014 and in the case of new undergraduate applications from June 2014 to mid March 2015.

NSFAS Application Process

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DHET MTEF allocation: 2012/13 – 2015/16

• NSFAS budget increases between 2011 and 2014:

– 69.3 % in 2011/12; 27,7 % in 2012/13; 9,3 % in 2013/14; 5,9 % in 2014/15; and 4.6 % in 2015/16).

• Demands still exceeds funds available.

2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

R’000 R’000 R’000 R’000

Universities 3 377 902 3 693 295 3 914 893 4 094 978

TVET colleges 1 734 834 1 988 434 2 107 739 2 204 695

5 112 736 5 681 729 6 022 632 6 299 673

NSFAS Challenges

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1. NSFAS Shortfall (problems across the system)

• The key issue raised by students and student bodies: many deserving returning and first year students are unable to register due to insufficient NSFAS funding.

• Insufficient appropriated funds for NSFAS to support all qualifying students at Full Cost of Study (FCS) (threshold of R122 000 pa):

• Continued increases in institutional fees linked to inflationary costs above NSFAS increases will erode the number of students supported.

• NSFAS will not be able to maintain current university student numbers without an additional injection of R1 billion (increasing at inflationary rates) in the baseline

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NSFAS Challenges

• MTSF targets: can only commit to support 205 000 university students per annum through NSFAS drawing on all available resources.

• Some institutions “Top slice” or cap awards, therefore NSFAS students have outstanding debts and cannot register.

• Current numbers include topslicing and does not support FCS for all eligible students (if FCS implemented it will mean even fewer students can be supported).

• Additional allocation of R10.2 billion required to fully fund all qualifying NSFAS students in the 2015 cohort (all eligible new students) in loan advances.

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NSFAS Challenges

• High expectations amongst students that funding for poor and working class students to cover FCS must be made available by government (based on Polokwane resolution and widespread belief that higher education is a fundamental right): threat to the stability of institutions due to increasing student protests and demands

2. Disbursements by universities

• Disbursements of funds in non pilot institutions: inconsistencies in allocating NSFAS funding across system – each institution has different processes

• Universities allocate loans linked to availability of funding using their own criteria.

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NSFAS Challenges

• Some universities only fund students with best academic results and a zero Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

• Failure of students to pay the EFC results in debt and the student not being able to register the following year

• Universities allow students to sign Loan Agreement Forms, knowing that they have depleted their allocation, and then over claim from NSFAS - therefore students are under the impression that they were funded. Students become aware of this when they cannot access their results or are told that they have outstanding debt.

3. B.Tech funding: only available where it is a requirement to register with a professional council to practice the profession.

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NSFAS Challenges

4. NSFAS administration: • Weak recoveries by NSFAS. Students who have benefited form higher education

studies and graduated are not all paying back – need to improve recovery rate• Weak NSFAS fund raising strategy • Weak regulations governing allocation of funds at institutional level (no NSFAS

Guidelines sent to institutions in 2013 and 2014) • Ineffective administration of donor funding • Lack of an effective NSFAS communication strategy• Challenges with the high level of queries to the NSFAS call centre still remains

 

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NSFAS Challenges

5. Allegations of fraudulent practices

• Reports of applicants, their parents and financial aid officers involved in fraudulent and corrupt activity.

• Terms of reference, for a forensic investigation to identify fraudulent activity with respect to NSFAS, has been developed and advertised

• Audit to be carried out during 2015.

• DHET will consider outcome of forensic audit and will prosecute where appropriate

 

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NSFAS Challenges

• The HE sector was affected by a wave of student protests in 2014, both at the beginning of the year and again at the beginning of the second semester, forcing some institutions to suspend their classes and/or close their campuses.

• Some protests became violent, leading to arrests, injuries and damage to property.

• Institutions affected: UL, VUT, MUT, UKZN, UFH and TUT

• At TUT, the strike that took place in August/September 2014 culminating in students burning 18 vehicles belonging to the University at Soshanguve campus.

• Issues that led to the strikes or protest actions include: admissions; access to student accommodation; academic and financial exclusions, as well as the expectation that university education should be free for poor students.

Student Unrest

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• The Department conducted a series of workshops in October 2014 for the Student Representative Councils (SRCs) student political formations, and Management and Institutional Forums (IFs).

• The workshops informed student leaders of developments regarding CACH, Central Applications System (CAS) and NSFAS; and provided them with an opportunity to interact with current issues and to provide inputs as the way forward.

Student Unrest: Interventions

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• The workshops included three breakaway commissions: – Conflict management between Student leadership

and Management– Preparation and readiness for the 2015 registrations – Political tolerance among student leaders

• It was hoped that the workshops would iron out any issues that would arise during the 2015 registration period.

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Student Unrest: Interventions

• In September 2014, a joint meeting between DHET, UCCF-SA, HESA and SAUS was held.

• All the parties unanimously agreed that student protests or demonstrations that result in destruction of university and private property, and infringe upon the rights of others to peaceful assembly, cannot be condoned or tolerated.

• The parties agreed on a set of measures to be explored : a) Acknowledging that most of the protests were linked to

inadequacy of NSFAS funding allocations to universities and the administration thereof; each university should consider developing and publishing, in the spirit of transparency, a NSFAS plan before the end of each academic year;

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Student Unrest: Interventions

b) Universities were urged to consider developing, in consultation with relevant structures, a protest policy, which will spell out the rights and responsibilities of all parties during protests and demonstrations.

c) To shorten the length of student protests after all internal avenues have been exhausted and where it is practicably possible, consideration should be given by universities to establish a Conflict Resolution Committee, as a sub-committee of Council with only external members with mediation expertise and experience. Such a Committee should be used by a Vice-Chancellor (VC) as a last resort, as part of a deadlock-breaking mechanism between University Management and Students.

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Student Unrest: Interventions

• The Minister met with HESA (all university VCs) and NSFAS to discuss a sector wide response in 2015

• The Minister met with the Education Alliance and student formations

• Outstanding fees and financial exclusions:– Institutions are making arrangements urging students

to pay back• Challenge remains: Students are demanding that they

be admitted regardless of lack of funds (e.g. Wits, UKZN, WSU and VUT) – the situation remains volatile

• Issue of BTech funding by NSFAS remains a challenge• Student accommodation is also a challenge

Preparation for 2015

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Institutional Teaching Development Grant proposals for 2014 & beyond, highlights:•the central contribution of ‘First Year Experience’ initiatives, providing a wide range of student support initiatives•establishment & consolidation of Writing Centres as a central component of language development support •dramatic expansion of tutorial and mentoring programmes•growing acknowledgement (with concomitant action) of the urgent need for the professionalisation of teaching, particularly at undergraduate level.

Enhanced Teaching & Learning Support for New Entrants

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• Apply Now! Campaign to assist in relaying message to prospective PSET students, that in future late applications will not be considered, will be implemented again in 2015;

• Better Career Advice in schools is also linked to the Apply Now! Campaign and Career Development Service operated by DHET;

• In 2016, CACH will focus on assisting students who have applied but have not been accepted into an institution of their choice and need to be re-directed to other PSET opportunities; and

• The Enterprise Architecture for the Central Applications Service will be developed during 2015 for piloting in 2017 and implementation in 2018.

Way Forward

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Thank you