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A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Education (Educational Psychology). / Although various policies have been implemented to lessen the impact of Apartheid on all levels of education since 1994, sub-Saharan Africa still has the lowest level of higher education enrolment in the world (Bloom, Canning & Chan, 2006). This study therefore aimed to identify which factors contributed to students' university enrolment in South Africa and how these factors affected their academic success at university. A self-developed questionnaire assessing factors influencing enrolment for three key areas (personal, parental and schooling) was administered to 337 psychology one students registered at the University of the Witwatersrand and academic success was estimated using their psychology one mark for the first semester. Data was analysed using frequency counts, Spearman's correlations and two independent sample t-tests. Results showed that intrinsic and extrinsic motives had the greatest influence on individuals' decision to attend university, with those students intrinsically motivated performing better on average than those motivated by any other factor. In addition, socio-economic status played a role in success at university, possibly because it affects the quantity and quality of resources available to an individual. As a result, those students' with a higher socio-economic status tended to do better than those of lower socio-economic status. Further analysis indicated that fluency in English also had an effect on student's overall success. / AC2017

The problem of this study was to determine by means of Judgment Analysis (JAN) Technique the admission policies of selected faculty and administrators for foreign graduate students at North Texas State University.

University admission criteria for graduate and undergraduate non-native English speaking students often include a minimum score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The relationships among academic success (here defined as first semester university grade point average), TOEFL test score, and other variables were analyzed by means of multiple regression analysis for a sample size of 159. The other variables examined were grade point average in the final semester of pre-university study-of-English courses, native language, major area of study and interactions of TOEFL score with native language, major area of study, and graduate/undergraduate status. Data on grade point average in the final semester of pre-university English language study were obtainable because students in the sample had studied English in a full-time non-credit pre-university English language program prior to beginning university course work. In addition first semester university grade point average data from a separate group of similar subjects were separately analyzed using identical procedures in an effort to validate the results of the study sample analysis. As another validation procedure, graduate and undergraduate data were also analyzed separately for each sample. Results indicated that graduate and undergraduate students in the study sample admitted with TOEFL scores of less than 500 were able to achieve at an acceptable level in the first semester of university course work. TOEFL test score and grade point average in the final semester of pre-university study-of-English courses were related to first semester undergraduate academic success but not to graduate academic success. The grade point average in the final semester of study-of-English courses accounted for 10% of the undergraduate first semester university grade point average, which was twice the variance accounted for by TOEFL test score. Native language was not related to first semester university grade point average in the study sample although there was a relationship in the validation sample. Major area of study was significantly related to first semester university grade point average for graduate students in the study sample but not for graduate students in the validation sample. All interactions tested were not significant. The results, including conflicting outcomes, were discussed.

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The relationship between language proficiency and academic success in university studies is of major concern in educational institutions throughout the Western world. The particular focus of this study is the situation in the Republic of South Africa. This problem is of critical importance at this stage in the history of South Africa when universities have publicly stated their commitment to admit any students with merit or potential to succeed at university. In order for students to succeed at university they need to be communicatively competent in the language which is the medium of instruction. It has been assumed that this ability can be assessed by means of a formal test and it is this issue on which this dissertation focuses in order to establish how reliable such tests are as predictors of academic performance. The empirical research covers a six-year period from 1982 to 1987 and investigates two tests. One is a particular language test which was designed specifically for the selection of students for courses of academic study of English at university. The other is the senior certificate examination which provides the statutory admission requirement for university entrance in South Africa. An extensive review of relevant studies both within South Africa and overseas has been undertaken. In addition an unstructured questionnaire was sent to English departments throughout South Africa in order to establish the current practice with regard to the selection of students for first-year courses. The conclusion seems to be that in the context of a homogeneous population language proficiency as measured on a formal test is predictive of academic success in first-year courses in English. In heterogeneous student populations, like that of South Africa where the majority of prospective students may be described as being "disadvantaged", however, this is not the case. Academic success cannot be predicted with any degree of confidence on the basis of language proficiency. Extreme caution is necessary in the implementation of any language test for the selection of students for academic study at university in the present changing nature of university student populations in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1988.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

The purposes of the study were (1) to describe student selection-retention procedures currently used by North Central Association colleges and universities which are accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, (2) to determine student selection-retention procedures which administrators of teacher education programs at the same institutions suggested should be employed, and (3) to develop a model student selection-retention program from a consensus of what authorities in the field of teacher education suggested should be involved in the selection-retention process.

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No description available.