Masters in Public Administration - MPA / This study was about the change of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) administration system from a decentralised to a centralised one. The aim was to investigate the shift of the NSFAS administration system and its effect on the students' academic progress and overall well-being in the learning process at a historically Black university in the Western Cape Province. The study had three objectives. Firstly, to examine the efficacy of the NSFAS centralised application process. Secondly, to determine the impact of the process on the students' academic progress and overall well-being in the learning process. Lastly, to propose recommendations for the streamlining of the application process so that the negative impact on the students' academic performance be minimised or prevented.

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This study attempts to explore, theoretically and empirically, the experience of being black in a predominantly white university. It is more specifically concerned with perceived interaction between members of different cultural and ethnic groups, namely, between black and white. Using the existential-phenomenological method the experience of seven subjects, both male and female, were explicated. This explication revealed that black students become aware of their "difference" during interaction with members of the dominant white group. The black students perceive the behaviour of the white-dominant group to be racist and this creates a great deal of latent hostility, anger, and resentment. It is suggested that a programme be developed to diffuse the conflict situation during intergroup interaction at university.

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics have indicated a steady growth of students attending 3 or more institutions while pursuing a baccalaureate degree. When students transfer institutions, they may have specific needs for their new institution. Informed by the transfer receptive culture framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of students who had attended 3 or more postsecondary institutions on the services they received, before and after their transfer. Purposeful sampling yielded 9 adult students with multiple-institution attendance histories. Data were collected through semistructured instant messaging interviews. A series of messages included multiple questions and opportunities for detailed participant responses. The interview data were open coded and thematically analyzed using constant comparative methods. The results indicated that the students expected a streamlined transition process, yet most perceived the institution to have limited technical and human resources dedicated to transfer services. The resource shortage contributed to institutional barriers requiring students to expend their cultural, social, and transfer capital to complete the transfer. Recommendations for the local institution include electronic transcript delivery, automated transcript processing, transference of student data maintenance, and early degree-specific credit evaluations. The study contributes to positive social change by providing research findings to the local site on possible ways to improve services for transfer students.

[pt] O Coletivo Nuvem Negra - CNN surge na Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro – PUC-Rio em 2015 é formado enquanto estratégia de sobrevivência, permanência e reconhecimento da história e ancestralidade de/as estudantes negros/as. Do mesmo modo, é um espaço que produz afeto e acolhimento contribuindo para a permanência de estudantes negros/as no ambiente universitário. O tema surgiu a partir da compreensão de que, se hoje podemos observar a existência de Coletivos Negros no interior das Universidades, isso se deve as lutas, agendas políticas e articulações históricas do Movimento Negro do Brasil em torno da Educação. Para tal fim, elegemos como o lócus do presente estudo o Coletivo Nuvem Negra - CNN da PUC-Rio. Como objetivo geral analisamos o processo de formação do Coletivo Nuvem Negra - CNN, os seus avanços e desafios, identificando as questões que desafiam o racismo institucional. Neste trabalho importa-nos conhecer o processo de formação, experiências e impactos do CNN a partir dos seguintes objetivos específicos: (1) Identificar os principais protagonistas na formação do CNN; (2) Identificar as características centrais que constituíram o CNN; (3) Destacar a partir das narrativas de seus protagonistas os principais impactos pessoais e coletivos provocados pelo CNN. Para responder aos objetivos apresentados, optamos pela articulação de três estratégias de pesquisa: (i) a revisão de literatura, focalizando as categorias principais do debate: Movimento Negro, Movimento Negro Contemporâneo, Coletivos Negros Universitários, Políticas de Ação Afirmativa; (ii) análise da ATA de fundação do Coletivo; (iii) realização de entrevista semi-estruturada com 8 (oito) fundadores do Coletivo Nuvem Negra, presentes na primeira reunião. Identificamos que o CNN se constituiu na PUC-Rio enquanto espaço de afeto, acolhimento e luta antirracistas contra o racismo institucional. Identificamos também que a partir da participação no CNN os impactos pessoais e coletivos se relacionaram com a ressignificação da estética-politica, do pertencimento a comunidade acadêmica, do resgate da memória e da ancestralidade. A atuação no CNN transcende o ambiente acadêmico e se relaciona com outros âmbitos que integram a vida dos sujeitos, como a família, o trabalho e os relacionamentos interpessoais. / [en] The Coletivo Nuvem Negra ( The Black Cloud Collective ), also referred to as CNN, arises at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) in 2015 as a strategic formation for the survival, endurance and recognition of the history and ancestry of Black students at the institution. Similarly, it serves as a space that produces support and a welcoming environment that contribute to the continued presence of Black students at the university. This subject was broached with the more general understanding that, if today we can observe the existence of collectives of Black students inside of universities, this has happened due to the struggles, political agendas and historical pronunciations of the Braziian Black Movement surrounding Education. To this end, we chose as a locus for the present study the Coletivo Nuvem Negra -CNN of PUC-Rio. Our general objective was to analyze the process of the formation of the Coletivo Nuvem Negra CNN, its advances and its challenges, and to identify the questions that have challenged institutional racism. This work concerns itself with understanding the process of formation, the experiences within and the impact of the CNN through the following specific facets of the student collective: 1) the principal actors in the formation of the CNN; 2) the central characteristics that constituted the CNN; 3) the narratives of its actors surrounding the principal personal and collective impacts produced by the CNN. To respond to the above objectives, we have chosen three research strategies: i) a revision of literature, focusing on the principal categories of the debate: Brazil s Black Movement, Contemporary Black Movement, Black Student Collectives, Policies of Affirmative Action; ii) an analysis of the records of the founding of the Coletivo Nuvem Negra; iii) carrying out semi-structured interviews with 8 (eight) founders of the Coletivo Nuvem Negra, who were present at the first meeting. We recognize that the CNN constituted, at the institution of PUC-Rio, a space of anti-racist support, a welcoming environment and a part of the anti-racist struggle against academic racism. We also recognize that by participating in the CNN the personal and collective impacts of this involvement related to a resignification of the politics of aesthetics, of belonging to an academic community and of African ancestry. The involvement in the CNN transcends the academic sphere and relates to other environments that make up the life of its subjects, such as family, work and interpersonal relationships.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / This study investigated the administration of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) for undergraduate students and its impact on the students' academic progress at a Historically Black University (HBU) in the Western Cape Province. It therefore dealt with the students' inability to fund their university education and the challenges they experienced because of the way in which NSFAS was administered at the university. The aim of the study was to investigate how the financial assistance received from NSFAS, or a lack thereof, impacted on the students' academic progress, and ultimately, their retention and success. The objective was to arrive at recommendations that could improve the process and enable the students to concentrate on their academic studies without financial stress and agony.