College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2020 23 staff and students in their efforts to achieve optimally. The shift to online TLA brought to the fore several underlying and emerging challenges. • Data access and connectivity presented a major challenge to students in the initial stages but concerns about student access to online learning were addressed at institutional level, through the provision of data and, where necessary, of devices on loan. • The need for student access to specialised software for some modules presented a challenge to online teaching and learning. • A further challenge was to ensure that the extensive tutoring programme could continue online and remain effective. Therefore, there was an increase of 25% in the number of senior tutors, tutors and mentors appointed to enhance online support. WhatsApp seemed to become the preferred means for tutors to engage with their tutoring groups, or with individual students. • Staff also experienced their own technical problems relating to data, connectivity, and the need for software for alternative teaching and learning tools. These problems were somewhat alleviated through the institutional provision of an allowance for data, and the remote support provided by ICS for software. • The skills gap confronted by staff placed them on a sharp learning curve, as they began to develop online material and engage with students through various platforms. • There was an increase in the workload of staff given the time and effort needed to develop new material for the online environment. • Adjustment to working remotely, development of online material, dealing with student queries, increased administration, together with their personal challenges relating to the pandemic, contributed to staff fatigue and stress. • There were concerns as to whether TLA standards were compromised to any degree given the rapid transition to an online environment. In other words, were learning outcomes meaningfully achieved and evaluated? This concern was somewhat mitigated by various strategies that academic staff adopted in their development, provision, and monitoring of learning activities, and in the diverse mix of assessments and how they were administered. • Moderation practices were also adjusted due to time constraints and logistical issues. There seems to have been an increased incidence of student academic dishonesty, given the challenge of monitoring students taking assessments, and the absence of proper invigilation tools. Schools and departments put in place control measures and adopted a high level of vigilance in detecting assessment transgressions. An internal proctoring system was developed by the School of Accounting, which was able to confirm who was actually taking the assessment; however, it was still not able to fully eliminate collusion. Some use was also made of artificial intelligence approaches to compare scripts where collusion might be suspected. In all, the College felt assured that adequate checks and balances were in place and that the integrity of assessment had been maintained. However, there remains a need for more appropriate and credible online monitoring of summative assessments and a review of assessment strategies given the lessons learned in 2020. • The use of synchronous lecturing and tutoring sessions implied a need for coordination of activities across modules. Hence a large number of academic staff opted for asynchronous sessions. sTudenT Progress While much of the success of the College (CBE) may be viewed and evaluated qualitatively, there are the usual quantitative indicators that point to the progress made by the CBE. Student progress is usually reflected in measures relating to module success, graduation, dropouts, and time-to-completion. • The undergraduate module success rate grew from 85% in 2017 to 90% in 2020. There was an increase of 5% from 2019 to 2020. • The undergraduate dropout rate by the end of the first year declined from 12,8% in 2017 to 11,8% in 2020. There was an increase of 0,8% from 2019 to 2020. • The graduate output for undergraduate degrees and diplomas grew from 3 865 in 2017 to 4 184 in 2020. An increase of 4,8% was recorded from 2019 to 2020. • The undergraduate graduation rate increased from 22,9% in 2017 to 28,3% in 2020. An increase of 1,9% was recorded from 2019 to 2020. • The graduate output for postgraduate programmes (postgraduate diplomas, honours, master’s and doctorates) increased from 1 386 in 2017 to 1 403 in 2020. There was a 2% increase from 2019 to 2020. • The postgraduate graduation rate increased from 45,1% in 2017 to 47,8% in 2020. A decline of 0,7 of a percentage point was recorded from 2019 to 2020. • Undergraduate students in 3-year diploma programmes, who graduate in minimum time increased from 35% in 2017 to 42% in 2020. The was an increase of 5 percentage points from 2019 to 2020. • Undergraduate students in 3-year degree programmes, who graduate in minimum time increased from 41,3% in 2017 to 46% in 2020. There was an increase of 3 percentage points from 2019 to 2020.
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