South Africa: University of Limpopo
· Annual student population: 13,000
· 280 total Pathways students
· Pathways participant since 2004
· 280 total Pathways students
· Pathways participant since 2004
The University of Limpopo is a public university based 30 kilometres from Polokwane, the capital of Limpopo Province in the far north of South Africa.
Web site: www.ul.ac.za/
Goals
The University of Limpopo's Pathways to Higher Education program seeks to provide academic and personal support to historically marginalized students entering the University and to enhance their graduation throughput rate. To support students and enhance the graduation throughput rate, the University's Pathways program is focused on developing or improving:
- Admission policies to expand access to marginalized students
- Training student and faculty mentors to support marginalized students
- Training faculty in inclusive teaching styles and subjects
- An extended curriculum program, which allows students time to build strong foundations
Target Population
The Pathways program has helped the University include ethnic, cultural and linguistic minorities, like the Tsonga, Tswana and Swazi people. Many students come from remote areas with inadequate secondary school preparation for higher education.
Outcomes
To date, the Pathways program:
- Developed new extended curriculum degree programs for at-risk students
- Created a model mentorship program for Pathways students
- Trained 940 students and faculty members as mentors to provide necessary academic support for under-prepared students
- Trained 27 faculty members in assessment and as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) supervisors