Australian Awards for University Teaching — 2009

Award for Programs that Enhance Learning — The First-Year Experience — Recipient

Monash South Africa Foundation Program
Monash University, Victoria

Synopsis

Apartheid in South Africa left a long shadow over the educational chances of thousands of Black South Africans. The majority of South African students have been disadvantaged by the school education system. As a result, thousands are denied access into higher education every year because they do not meet the requirements for entry. Many international students from under-developed countries in Africa also make up the student population, the majority being from Botswana, and Zimbabwe.

As part of its policy of internationalisation, Monash University opened a campus in South Africa in 2001 as a long-term commitment to the sustainable development of South and Sub-Saharan Africa through the provision of education. Because many potential students lacked the academic skills required for direct entry, the Monash South Africa Foundation Program (MSAFP) was conceived and implemented the following year to provide access as an alternative pathway to Monash University.

The outcomes of the program are outstanding. Pass rates are between 80-90 per cent. Program students who progress to a degree have first year average marks and average progress rates no different to those entering through direct entry.  The MSAFP, working with a far more disadvantaged cohort, is evidence that an alternative pathway can successfully provide opportunities for disadvantaged groups to succeed in higher education.

Volunteering schemes which provide opportunities for participants to acquire values such as equity and service enjoy high participation rates. The MSAFP has successfully broadened who benefits from higher education and demonstrates its transformative potential to increase the capacity of developing countries to contribute to their future.