Higher varsity student intake

THE CASCADING effect from the #FeesMustFall protest last year seems to have plateaued, with universities in Cape Town all reporting a higher intake of first-years for the 2018 academic year.

Earlier this year, universities had to delay the intake of first-years as they assessed the impact of the protests on returning students and repeat students.

The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) said the number of first-year spots had increased for the 2018 academic year. “The intake remains consistent across firstyear placements and rises every year on average of under 5%,” CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley said.

The #FeesMustFall protests had slowed down the acceptance pace. “It does delay acceptance, as we first need to establish the number of returning students before we can accept a new intake,” she said.

The university expects to be heavily oversubscribed, as in previous years, she added.

“We always urge applicants to apply timeously so that they can get their acceptance letters as soon as possible. Most courses close applications by the end of September,” Kansley said.

Stellenbosch University said it had not reduced its number of placements. “We will again take in some 5 000 newcomer students (first-years) in 2018,” university spokesperson Martin Viljoen said.

The university had, after the #FeesMustFall protests, closely watched its retention rate, he added.

“Retention is monitored continuously and the institution has not detected a significant decrease in the success rate of our students,” he said.

The university said it was expecting 5 000 newcomers next year.

The University of the Western Cape said it would accept about 4 500 first-year students for the 2018 academic year.

The #FeesMustFall movement, which started in October 2015, aimed to highlight the financial plight of students after some universities threatened to increase their tuition fees by 10.5%.

As a result, many students protested and brought some of the country’s universities to their knees. – marvin.charles@ inl.co.za