UCT has hand on the tiller

I WISH to thank Ramabina Mahapa for his open letter to UCT vicechancellor Dr Max Price (“UCT’s policies fall short”, Weekend Argus, May 10). Since Dr Price has been out of town I am taking the opportunity to respond on his behalf.

I take note of Mahapa’s concerns and I believe we stand on common ground in most of these matters. I would like to address a few points that I think require some explanation.

First, UCT shares Mahapa’s concern about the academic success of students. There is no point in recruiting students from a wider range of communities and schools if we cannot ensure they have the best possible chance of succeeding in a degree programme. It is this concern that led to the formation over the past few decades of the academic development programmes in all UCT faculties. Similarly, this year we launched the First-Year Experience to assist new students in their adjustment to life on a university campus. In both types of programmes, we have identified specific areas that we help young students to address, such as learning how to make the best use of online facilities. These programmes also involve more senior students who are available as volunteer tutors and mentors, which we hope will help to strengthen the community feeling for all students who are involved.

We view these kinds of programmes as an essential part of transformation at UCT. We recognise that a growing number of students will not have the advantage of a “Model C” basic education; that if we create a wider net to attract students with academic potential from disadvantaged communities, we will need to help many of them improve their knowledge of foundational subjects, especially in science and mathematics. We have seen that students who take advantage of these programmes do succeed and can even surpass the performance of peers from a “Model C” environment.

We also share Mahapa’s concern about students on financial aid who are academically excluded. However, I must point out that compared with other universities in South Africa, an academic exclusion rate of 7 percent among financial aid recipients is very low. Indeed, the other side of the coin is the 93 percent (including students who are black and coloured) who are making a success of their academic careers. These are exactly the types of students who prove the worth of financial assistance.

Similarly, UCT’s debt figures are low. We have extensive policies with regard to debt collection, including measures such as preventing students who owe money from registering, graduating or obtaining academic transcripts. At the same time, UCT makes every effort (within reason) to assist students who owe fees, with priority given to the poorest students. Even students who owe fees are assisted to register, and these students have the opportunity to present their case to the financial aid office during the registration period. Students who complete their degree and are in debt to UCT can still apply for work, and the university will provide a letter to potential employers verifying that the degree was completed.

In the presentations Price has made to students on UCT’s new admissions policy proposal, “race” does remain a factor in assessing disadvantage; but it is not the only factor any more. We are now also taking into consideration factors that impact directly on students’ National Senior Certificate performance, such as parental levels of education, the kind of school that the applicant may have attended and his or her home language. We believe that these factors are important for us to work with when we accept a student into UCT. They do, moreover, relate directly to the way in which “race” worked during and even after apartheid.

In formulating an alternative model for admissions, UCT has held fast to these principles:

● We want to attract the most talented students. Because many such students will have gone to poor schools and have lower marks, they would not be selected if the selection process only considers marks. Yet we know that, given the opportunity, they will achieve well.

● We are concerned to produce a new generation of professionals, leaders, intellectuals, political actors and analysts who are more demographically representative of the population, as this is how a country grows.

● We are concerned with social justice as it affects both the individual and the communities from which he or she comes. We, therefore, need to have an approach which will acknowledge those circumstances which may impede opportunities for the individual and those which operate at a broader social level and are responsible for either discriminating against a group of people or advantaging them. Our redress policies must, therefore, be sensitive to both the individual and group experience.

● We think that the education of all students benefits from having diversity within the classroom and across the campus.

Mahapa also makes the claim that “UCT ‘imports’ most of its black lecturers”. The fact is, UCT “imports” lecturers and researchers of all racial backgrounds, from many different continents, just as many UCT researchers often work overseas. It is commonplace in academia now for researchers and lecturers to gain experience in a wide range of institutions. UCT offers an advantage to researchers who want to address African issues and problems, and this helps us to recruit leading academics.

However, I concede the point that UCT struggles to create the diversity we are seeking among our South African academics. In part this is a legacy of the apartheid years, when African and coloured graduates with potential for an academic career found their best opportunities were overseas. Another factor to consider is that the private sector can generally offer academics a much better salary than the higher education sector. UCT’s Emerging Researcher Programme now helps to accelerate the careers of graduate students who want to build a future in research and teaching.

Finally, Mahapa asks why a statue of Cecil Rhodes remains in a prominent place at UCT. The reason is simple: Rhodes donated the land for UCT’s Upper, Middle and Lower Campuses and the Health Sciences Faculty. While we certainly do not support his colonialist principles and racial attitudes, we remain grateful for the gift that made UCT possible.