Page 38 - DUT Annual Report 2020

36
88%
87%
86%
85%
84%
83%
82%
87,02%
83,25%
84,75%
85,11% 85,25%
83,17%
81,08% 81,70% 81%
80% 79% 78%
2013 2014 2015
2016 2017
2018 2019 2020
DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Almost 38% of disability is attributed to problems with sight. While enrolments of students with a disability related to hearing and physical movement decreased in 2020, those experiencing vision disability increased by 11%. As indicated in the 2019 Report to Senate, we recognise that our physical infrastructure is not suitable for differently abled students. Our physical infrastructure expansion projects on our campuses in Pietermaritzburg and Durban have included a focus on ensuring appropriate access for differently abled people. The increase in the number of students with visual challenges is particularly concerning though, given the shift to online learning for most of the 2020 academic year. Other research conducted at the University found that 90% of students use cell phones to engage in online learning when not on campus, and this is not ideal for students with visual impairments.2
ACADEMIC PROGRESS
This section of the report focuses on academic progress, measured in terms of success rates, graduation rates, and throughput rates for various National Diploma, Bachelor’s degree and BTech student cohorts.
Success Rates
Success rate is defined as completed full-time equivalents (FTEs) expressed as a percentage of the enrolled FTEs. Data on student performance show that DUT continues to meet DHET-approved targets of 80% in respect of success rates. Since this report uses data rounded up/down to the nearest whole numbers, Figure 8 presents, for clarification purposes, unrounded success rates.
Figure 8. Percentage success rates, 2013 – 2020
Figure 8 shows that, having been on an upward trajectory since 2013, success rates dipped slightly in 2019 but increased to 87% in 2020. This 2 percentage point increase in overall success rates requires deeper analysis for understanding, given the disruptions to the academic year brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to data provision for staff and students at institutional level to enable remote teaching and learning, several faculties put in place other support measures, including couriering printed notes to students, providing learning material on USB and setting up WhatsApp learning groups. The CELT provided technical support to staff and students, as well as professional development in online teaching, learning and assessment pedagogies.
Gender
Although the success rates of both male and female students increased to 83% and 91% respectively in 2020, females continued to outperform males. The gender gap in performance widened from 6% in 2019 to 8% in 2020 (Figure 9). Closer analysis by field of study indicates that male Humanities students’ success rate declined by 4 percentage points in 2020, whereas that of females was unchanged. In SET, the female success rate increased by 4 percentage points, compared to a 3 percentage points rise in male success rate. Likewise, in the Business/ Commerce field, female success rate was 1 percentage point higher than that of male students.
2. DUT Students Access and Use of Learning Materials – Feedback from the 2020 SAULM survey, Report to EMC March 2021.