As part of this learning experience, our cohort will travel to South Africa to visit select universities to discuss issues of access, student success, and organizational efficacy with local students, scholars and practitioners. We will learn from students about their experiences at these institutions as well as meet with other individuals engaged in the work of supporting both young people and South Africa’s progress toward meeting its changing social and economic demands. Student participants will attend and present research at the South African National Resource Center’s First Year Experience conference. In addition, we will visit important sites connected to anti-apartheid struggle to offer social and political context for the ongoing work to reduce and eliminate educational disparities in South Africa.
Student Learning Goals
The learning goals of the course include, but are not limited to:
- To introduce students to current issues in various sectors of higher education in South Africa
- To provide an overview of the historical, political, economic, and social contexts which inform the development and implementation of South Africa’s higher education system
- To compare and contrast the U.S. and South African higher education systems
- To identify patterns of racial inequity related to college access and choice, student retention and persistence, and socio-academic experiences on-campus in the South African context
- To recognize how South African public and institutional policy affects students, staff, faculty, and community members
Expected Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Identify various parties that are involved in developing and implementing policies relevant to South African higher education
- Describe how historical, political, economic, and social contexts inform the development and implementation of South Africa’s higher education system
- Distinguish differences/similarities between U.S. and South African higher education systems, including transference possibilities for an anti-racist higher education of the future
- Better understand the complexities of and brainstorm possible solutions to address racial inequity in the South African higher education context
- Discuss how public and institutional policy can be used as a tool to inform and/or stifle change in service of diversity, equity, and inclusion