In a bid to curb first-year dropout rates, CPUT will roll out an integrated First Year Experience (FYE) Project.

Details of this project, which is spearheaded by Fundani CHED, was revealed at the RITAL conference held recently at the Granger Bay Campus.

The annual RITAL conference provides a platform for CPUT staff to showcase research into innovative teaching and learning initiatives.

This year’s theme was Reclaiming Quality: Enhancing the scholarship of teaching and learning in Higher Education. CPUT staff delivered presentations that focused on the subthemes of curriculum development, teaching, learning and assessment practices, and first years. 

Fundani CHED’s Dr Nosisana Mkonto presented on the FYE Project and says first-year retention is not just a South African problem, but a global one.

Mkonto says studies have shown that there are numerous reasons why students fail or withdraw from their studies, ranging from financial difficulties to a mismatch between the student and the course.

Mkonto says first years need to be nurtured and supported.

“As the CPUT community we are going to create a supportive, integrative first year to enhance student development and success,” she says.

The FYE Project focuses on high-impact activities and practices, such as an extended orientation programme and an early warning, referral and support system. Interventions such as online help material, workshops and a mentoring programme have also been included in the project.

Mkonto says when conceptualising the project, they looked at how best they could integrate it to ensure that faculties and support departments work alongside one another to ensure student success.

As a result, structures have been set up in faculties to ensure the success of the project and training will also be rolled out for academic staff.

“The support is not only for students at risk, but for all first years,” says Mkonto

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Adapting to university life can be stressful and this year CPUT has a special plan in place to ensure our students achieve maximum success.

The First Year Experience (FYE) is a project aiming to improve student retention and success rates by managing the transition from school to university.Managed by the Student Learning Unit , the FYE is a series of videos, presentations and workshops to address concerns about starting university studies. These focus on soft skills like goal setting, note taking and even financial planning. 

Student Learning offers a range of other services and is free to all registered CPUT students.

Head of Student Learning Dr Nosisana Mkonto urges all first years to make contact with the unit as soon as possible.

“Many times students will struggle silently and eventually fail. That is not necessary because the problems they face are not unique and we are here to help,” she says.

Other services offered by the Student Learning Unit include the training of mentors and tutors who are identified by lecturers to assist in a variety of student experiences like settling into residences and Mathematics support.

Workshops on a variety of topics like academic literacy and topic analysis. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to make an appointment.

The unit is open between 8am to 4pm and is located in the E-Learning Centre, Lab 2, in Cape Town and in the IT centre in Bellville.

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The transition from school to university can be a daunting one but the First Year Experience (FYE) at CPUT aims to help our new students settle in successfully.

FYE is an institution-wide, student-centred initiative that provides support to first-year students to adapt, engage and progress at CPUT.

“It is therefore important for first-year students to participate in FYE because FYE pulls together resources and helpful people available to first-year students. It equips first-year students with helpful techniques to maximise study habits, facilities to ease challenges with studies and university life in general and Support Services to help deal with personal issues says Dr Nosisana Mkonto, institutional coordinator for the FYE.

She encouraged first-year students to get in touch with mentors and retention Officers (ROs) who are based in faculties and can provide support to first-year students.

“Mentors and ROs are students themselves who understand first-year students’ challenges. The CPUT 101 programme available (online) on Blackboard covers a variety of topics that can assist first-year students with their studies and university life in general.”

Videos on the FYE are available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/CPUTfye.

The FYE offices are located as follows:

District Six campus:

Engineering Building room 4.51

E-Learning Centre, room 2.26

Bellville campus:

IT Centre, Room 1.04

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With its aspirations to foster student success, reduce attrition and magnifying student achievement, the First-Year Experience (FYE) Unit within Fundani CHED recently hosted its student symposium at Bellville campus.

The symposium, themed: “Learning while helping others” was well attended by the students and boasted dignitaries such as Dr Andre Van Zyl from the University of Johannesburg and Siyabulela Sabata from the University of the Western Cape, who delivered insightful keynote addresses. The event centred on mentors and retention officers (Ros) unearthing their FYE experiences, highlights, and challenges they have spotted, and they also presented proposals to improve the FYE programme.

Reflecting on the event, the Institutional FYE Coordinator, Dr Nosisana Mkonto, who is also Head of Department: Student Learning Unit, said: “The event was a success. Mentors and retention officers from the different faculties shared their experiences and challenges in supporting first-year students and offered suggestions and recommendations on improving the FYE programme.”

She said: “The highlight was the sharing of best practices by the mentors and the retention officers, the informative presentation by the keynotes, Dr Andre Van Zyl from UJ and Mr Siyabulela Sabata from UWC.” There were also presentations from each faculty which were followed by pulsating question and answer sessions. FYE provides support to help first-year students manage the transition from high school to university education. Mkonto said the FYE inspires students to be fully inducted into their academic disciplines and programmes, providing them with psycho-social and academic support. “Mentors provide psycho-social support and retention officers monitor student risk factors regarding class attendance, submission of assignments and performance in assessments and assignments.”

In his feedback, Van Zyl said: “I think it’s an absolute wonderful event, it’s clear that at CPUT, you’ve got an approach to the First-Year Experience where people are international, and people are building structures, and they are involving people. That’s a very impressive approach. And I really enjoyed the seminar, it was so good to listening to the students as well. Not just the staff talking about the students or the students talking about themselves.”

In her message to the first-years and CPUT community, Mkonto added: “FYE offers online material, seminars/workshops and the CPUT101 programme, which equips first-year students to engage in their courses. First-year of study at university can be challenging, but the support from FYE can assist in overcoming the challenges. FYE is everybody’s business.”

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The STARS Unit at Fundani CHED, which has been working toward the mandate of transforming education through the First-Year Experience (FYE) programme for the past 10 years, recently hosted an FYE Symposium event marking its decennial anniversary to reflect, learn and innovate for the future.

This special event, themed: A Decade of FYE at CPUT: Reflecting on the Past and Shaping the Future, was held at Bellville Campus and focused on what education for first-year students striving for a better future will look like and what challenges and opportunities they face to transition from the present education systems to the new vision. The FYE is a student-centred initiative that aims to increase student success, reduce attrition and maximise student achievement. FYE pulls together all the resources and support available at CPUT to help first-year students manage the transition from high school to university.

In her welcome and opening remarks, Dr Xena Cupido, Director: Fundani CHED, said: “This is certainly a huge milestone for us to celebrate this day and welcome you here.” Addressing the first-year students, Cupido said the First-Year Experience is about laying a foundation to assist them with regards to making new connections and personal development as they come from diverse backgrounds with various levels of preparedness. “So, part of the FYE is also helping students to navigate those social and emotional adjustments that the students have to make when they come to university life.” She added that FYE is an extended orientation for first-year students as they transition from high school to university life, and FYE is beyond academic orientation as it includes students' social and emotional needs.

“So, over the last 10 years, we have developed innovative strategies to ensure that every first-year student feels a sense of belonging and find academic support and given an opportunity to thrive.”

Lu-Ann Kearns from the Faculty of Education reflected on 10 years of FYE at the Faculty. Other Faculty FYE representatives also provided FYE highlights in the faculties.

Dr Nosisana Mkonto: Head of STARS Unit, added that the unit will utilise data-driven information in order to “support the students effectively”. “Who are these students who coming in at CPUT, what have they had access to, you know, where are they coming from, what schools are they coming from, what are they bringing into the institution, what kind of support do they need, not the support that we think they require, sometimes we think this is what they require but we have realised that time has changed,” Mkonto noted.

She said: “I am very proud of my team within Fundani and outside Fundani, because everybody here belongs to the FYE, and FYE is everybody’s business.”

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