Update on: 2010 Registrations & Student Satisfaction, 2009 HEMIS Enrolments, Success & Graduation Rates Presented to Prof Pityana for tabling at Council 3 September 2010 Update on: 2010 Registrations & Student Satisfaction, 2009 HEMIS Enrolments, Success & Graduation Rates Presented to Prof Pityana for tabling at Council 3 September 2010 Prof George Subotzky Executive Director: Information & Strategic Analysis University of South Africa Prof George Subotzky Executive Director: Information & Strategic Analysis University of South Africa

Applications, 2010

Unisa received over applications for 2010 Of these, 41,2% were converted into registrations. This represents our current “take up rate”. Just over one fifth (21,1%) completed their registrations but did not go on to register. This represents our current "non-take-up rate”. Just over a third (36,6%) had not completed their applications by August. The reasons behind these trends will be investigated

Provisional & HEMIS HCs,

The 2010 provisional enrolments currently stand at This represents a sharp increase of 10,9% over 2009 – a significant rise after the slight decline of 1,9% between 2008 and 2009 Unisa’s final 2009 HEMIS active headcount total was This represented a moderate 0,6% increase over The 94,2% active student rate in 2009 represented an increase of 2,4% over This explains the increase in active headcounts compared to the decline in provisional enrolments in Projecting on a 94% active student rate in 2010, we predict an active headcount of over this year. Clearly, the implications have to be addressed in Unisa’s emerging enrolment management framework.

HEMIS HCs by College,

Between 2008 and 2009, the following key trends are evident among the colleges: An increase of around headcounts was evident in CHS, which now comprises over 30% of the total After consistent increases between 2004 and 2008, CEMS showed a decline of around and now represents 46,6% of the total – down from over 50% in previous years The other colleges were relatively static A decline in the number and proportion of occasional students was evident from a high of (7,1%) in 2007 to just over (5,4%) in 2009

HEMIS HCs by Race,

Interestingly, Unisa’s 2008 and 2009 student racial profile were almost identical, with African students constituting 64% of the total, Coloured students 5,8%, Indian students around 8,9% and White students around 21,3% This suggests that the profile may have stabilised at its current proportions Between 2004 and 2009, the proportion of African students rose steadily from 55,1% to 64,0%. Conversely, the proportion of White students declined from 28,5% to 21,3%. The proportion of Coloured and Indian students remain relatively static over the period.

HEMIS HCs by Gender,

The proportion of Unisa’s women students has increased steadily from 54,0% in 2004 to 60,2% The precise reasons for this are unknown and should be investigated While, at the aggregate level, this represents a positive equity trend, the distribution of female enrolments at the various qualification levels and their graduation rates must be examined in order to determine whether hidden inequities persist

HEMIS HCs by FT/PT Status,

The proportion of part-time students rose from 82,3% in 2007 to 84,1% in 2009 This provides further evidence of the way in which Unisa provides access to higher education for numerous non- traditional students

Proportion of HEMIS HCs above & below 30,

Between 2004 and 2007, the proportion of students below 30 increased from 48,1% to 52,6% - indicating that Unisa’s student profile was becoming younger However, between 2007 and 2009, this trend has reversed, with the proportion of students below 30 declining from 52,6% to 50,4% Proportion of HEMIS HCs above & below 30,

Course Success Rates,

Very encouragingly, Unisa’s official (degree credit) course success rate increased substantially from 56,3% in 2008 to 60,3% in 2009 This exceeds the revised ministerial 2010 target of 56% and almost attains the original ministerial target of 60%

Unfunded Students,

Between 2008 and 2009, the number of actual Teaching Input Units (TIUs) was static at around Against the TIUs allocated to Unisa in terms of DHET’s current capping policy, this resulted in a total of unfunded students However, against Unisa’s earlier projection of unfunded students in 2009, this represented a decline of around Nonetheless, the challenge of reducing future unfunded students and of mitigating the attendant financial risk remains an urgent priority

HEMIS Graduations,

In 2009 a sharp increase in graduations was evident to – up significantly from previous years This means that, between 2004 and 2009, the new Unisa has made a significant contribution of over graduates to society, the labour market and human resource development nationally and continentally

HEMIS “Proxy” Graduation Rates,

In terms of the rough, “proxy” graduation rate (calculated by the number of graduates over headcounts in an academic year), Unisa’s performance has increased to 8,6% in 2009 – up from around 6–7% in previous years This is approaching the original 2010 ministerial target of 10% However, when occasional students are legitimately excluded from the calculation, Unisa achieved a “proxy” graduation rate of 9,1% in 2009 – sharply up from 7,3% in 2008 This exceeds the revised 2010 ministerial target of 8,4% While improving Unisa’s success, throughput and graduation rates remains an urgent priority, these recent improvements bode very well

Student Satisfaction Survey, 2010

2010 saw a slight but encouraging increase in overall student satisfaction at Unisa. This reverses a consistent downward trend since 2007 The composite Unisa Student Satisfaction Index (USSI) increased by 0,74 to 63,89 in 2010 A significant increase of 2,66 was evident in the Unisa Registration Efficiency Index (UREI) Marginal increases were evident in the General (GUSI), Academic Performance (UAPI) and Admin & Professional Services (UAPSI) Indices The only index to show a decline was the Student Support Services Index (USSSI) which fell marginally by 0,55