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Mid-Way Reflections: A collaborative conceptualisation and implementation of the First Year Experience Massive Open Online Course (FYE MOOC) for Student Success and Retention

Presenter

Dr Rochelle Glynnis Wessels is currently the Manager of the Student Retention Unit (SRU) within the Department of Tuition Support and Facilitation of Learning (DTSFL), University of South Africa.  At the SRU, she is implementing the Compact with Council Project aimed at improving the success and retention of first-time entering students through the First Year Experience Programme. She has worked for more than 25 years as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Administration and Management, at the same university. 

Rochelle holds a doctoral degree in Public Administration from the University of Pretoria with a thesis entitled ‘The establishment of a skills and development training framework for municipal frontline staff: The case of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality’. 

Dr Rochelle Wessels has published a book, three chapters in different books, and five articles in accredited journals. She has presented 13 papers at international and local conferences.  Currently Rochelle is supervising and co-supervising five Masters students from the Department of Public Administration and Management. 

Abstract

The number of students first-time entering university have increased post-1994. The socio-economic backgrounds of these students, as well as the quality of basic education received during the school years differ vastly. Therefore, their transitions into becoming successful students at a university becomes a challenge, not only to the students but also to the universities, in terms of how the universities manage their transition and offer the quality tuition experiences to the students. It is in this context that the Council on Higher Education (CHE), through the Quality Enhancement Project of the Higher Education Qualification Council, requires of universities to design and implement tailor-made programmes to enhance First Year Experience (FYE) for students’ success and retention.  

The University of South Africa (UNISA), which is the only Open, Distance and e-Learning university in Southern Africa, accepted the call and established the Student Retention Unit (SRU) to improve the learning experience of first-time entering students which should enhance their success in their studies and increase the throughput rate. The paper gives mid-way reflections on how UNISA, through the SRU, have collaboratively developed and implemented the FYE programme. The paper concludes that the progress since 2017 has been remarkable as SRU has developed a unique system called the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to implement the First Year Experience programme (FYE). The FYE MOOC has been designed to consist of nine units and learning tools suitable for UNISA. Lessons and challenges learned by the SRU in this programme will be shared. It is concluded that success would not be harvested if was not for the effective collaborative communities with one common purpose to help and change the lives of first-time entering students at UNISA. 

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