Factors affecting examination attrition: does academic support help? A survey of ACN203S (Cost Accounting and Control) students at Unisa

Abstract

This study sought to determine the attributing and contributing factors to examination absence as well as whether the academic and social support available to students had a role to play in discouraging or reducing absence from examinations using results from a quantitative survey of ACN203S (Cost Accounting and Control) students who were admitted to but did not sit for the October/November 2011 and/or May/June 2012 ACN203S examinations. The results indicate that it is mainly non-academic factors that were responsible for examination absence, mainly work responsibilities that resulted in students not having enough time to study, and those who had enough time to study not to spend sufficient time studying. With regard to academic and social support, despite students indicating awareness and need for counselling, lecturer, tutorial and other support, their use of available support was minimal. This was attributed in part to not knowing how to explain their problems to the lecturer, having a view that the support would not be helpful and not having the time to contact support services.

Keywords:

• student support
• examination absence
• academic support
• social support
• absence consequences

Notes

1.See http://www.unisa.ac.za/dFefault.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=15974.

2.The university asks students to classify themselves according to racial categories that are still used by the South African government and these four categories (see Table 1) continue to provoke political critique as well as being contested because they are ill-defined due to their link to the apartheid system act; that is, The Population Registration Act 30 of 1950, which was repealed by Act 114 of 1991.