2.5 Livelihood Assets: University
2.5.2 Student Funding, University Attendance and Academic Progress
DoE Committee Report, 2008; Leuven et al., 2003).In The Netherlands Leuven et al., (2003), observed that financial rewards do not improve the achievement of low ability students with a low SES. Frenette’s (2007) study in Canada found that only 12% of the gap in university participation was related to financial constraints. The reasons cited include that the requirements for the reward were too demanding for low ability students coming from a disadvantaged background. This could be due to factors such the locus of control of
6A university dropout is someone who has attended a university but is no longer doing so and has never graduated from his/her university program (Shaienks et al., 2008 [www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-595-m/2008070/6000001-eng.htm]). Further, it measures the overall number of failed attempts at obtaining credentials, even if the individual eventually graduates. Previously, dropout rates were calculated based on individuals who attempted postsecondary education, were not in it at the time of data collection and had not obtained a credential by that time. Therefore, it did not capture failed attempts as these went unaccounted for by changing institutions. The difference in results from the two measurement methods was sizeable (Shaienks et al., 2008 http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-595-m/81-595-m2008070-eng.htm). On the other hand, any student in good academic standing may voluntarily withdraw from the College and return conditional on a binding agreement between the student and the university.
individual students and the time and effort they expend on their studies. It follows that
‘academic progress’ (the pass rate) policy should focus on increasing students' effort as there is a multiplicity of factors that contribute to academic progress.
In line with this thinking, Leuven et al. (2003) have advanced the proposition that students with high mathematics skills and better educated fathers had a better chance of pass rates and credit points than those with higher financial rewards. Thus, financial incentives or rewards should be reviewed in combination with a host of other factors that enhance student academic progress and/or epistemic success at university.
Contrary to the above international findings, in South Africa NSFAS, a government student funding scheme, is very important for a number of reasons. It has facilitated equity and access through the broadening of university participation to the majority of South Africans, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds (see Letseka et al., 2008; DoE Ministerial Committee Report on NSFAS, 2009). However, some higher education observers have questioned whether such broader participation has been achieved. The Ministerial Committee Report (2008) observed that “access to higher education by black students was restricted by the lack of financial aid … let alone in spite of the efforts made by the government to tackle this through NSFAS”. They maintain that funding from NSFAS is far from sufficient. The literature shows that in South Africa, the major contributor to black attrition rates at higher education institutions is lack of financial aid (see Letseka et al., 2008)7. American studies show that both needs-based aid and merit-based aid have positive and significant effects on student GPAs throughout college (Stater, 2009). The study asserts that financial aid facilitates student integration and commitment to academic study which in turn facilitate higher academic achievement (see Stater, 2009).
Student equity has been identified by the Education White Paper 3 of 1997 as a key goal.
According to the DoE (Ministerial Committee Report on Transformation and Social Cohesion and the Elimination of Discrimination in Public Higher Education Institutions, 2008), progress has been made through the workings of NSFAS to provide funding to the financially need students of good academic standing (see also DoE Ministerial Report on
7In the budget presented by South Africa’s Minister of Finance on (2012)for the next three years, education received the lion’s share. The amount allocated to financial aid for university students will be increased.
NSFAS, 2009). Between 2000 and 2007 black student enrolments increased from 70% to 76%, while white student enrolments decreased from 30% to 24% (DoE, 2008). This does not, however, imply that equity has necessarily been attained.
Not all analysts support equity based funding of higher education for students. Cardak (2006) observed that Australia has repudiated equity based scholarships or funding on the basis that they are unlikely to have much impact on the low university participation of students from low SES families. It is argued that students from a poor family background are as likely to attend university as those from better resourced families (Cardak and Ryan, 2006; Hastings, 2008). These arguments notwithstanding, in South Africa and elsewhere, it has been observed that tuition fees raise entry barriers to higher education and thus run counter to the frequently stated policy objective of increasing participation (see Hirsch, 2008). However, Hastings (2008) observed that:
“Policies such as targeted university scholarships are unlikely on their own to bring SES students into the university system in greater numbers”.
This is compounded by the fact that low SES students are unable to take advantage of their ability – as reflected in early school achievement – in the same manner as high SES students in terms of entry requirements (Cardak and Ryan, 2006). This further explains why low university participation by disadvantaged students cannot be attributed to financial constraints alone (see Heckman and Carneiro, 2002).
At UKZN8 according to the DMI (2010), on average 44% of new students received financial aid during the period 2007 to 2009. The DMI (2010) further observed that, whereas the number of students receiving financial aid had increased since 2007, the proportion relative to the total intake shows a decline. Further, the maximum loan from NSFAS does not cover accommodation and food or sundries such as toiletries and transport fees (until recently as regards the latter) (see also chapter six). This, together with lower matric pass rates and
8At UKZN, there has been a steady increase in the intake of African students in the past three years relative to white and Indian students (DMI, 2010).
scores between population groups, will perpetuate the cycle of poverty and inequality (Branson et al., 2009). This observation is associated with another perennial higher education phenomenon in South Africa: the dropout rate (Letseka et al., 2008).
At an international level, Glocker (2009) on his study on “The Effect of Student Aid on the Duration of Study” in German higher education institutions noted that an average student with poor financial endowments faces the highest dropout risk. However, with an increase in the amount of funding granted by the Federal Education and Training Assistance Act (BAfoeG – Bundes Ausbildungsfoerderungs Gesetz) there is a major increase in the probability of graduating. The type of financial aid also makes a difference. Comparing BAfoeG eligible students who are funded with the maximum amount of student aid available to students who receive the same amount in private transfers, more student aid recipients graduate by the 16th semester (86% compared to 45%) (Glocker, 2009).
Cardak and Ryan (2007) asserted that when looking at equity and access the key question is
"what are the causes of the SES imbalance among higher education participants?" According to them, the 'intuitive' answer is that “low SES students have access to limited resources and are credit constrained when deciding whether or not attend to university”. A plausible solution is lower university tuition charges for such students (Cardak and Ryan 2007). This is further advanced by Le and Miller (2005), who assert that “addressing the socio-economic imbalance within the tertiary sector in the current era would require equity-based scholarships or university fee rebates to be provided to Year 12 graduates” (Supiano, 2008, 2005 in Cardak and Ryan, 2007).
In the final analysis, while financial aid matters, it is the type of financial aid that matters most. It is also important that students’ social background be factored in. This being the case, policy wise, it is necessary to reflect on why fewer low SES students earn entry points and how their eligibility can be improved. In South Africa, the issue of funding in higher education needs a more holistic approach. Thus, there are many other factors that prevent bright students from poor schools entry into higher education such as lack of systematic mentoring and concerted career guidance, to mention a few (see Jones et al., 2008).