A profile of the geographies of students in the Department of Information Science at the University of South Africa (UNISA)

Abstract

In order for universities to ensure not only access through massification but also retention and success through high throughput rates, it is pertinent that institutions have a basic understanding of students’ contextual realities. Due to emerging political, economic, technological and social developments the nature of the current and prospective university student has changed. This transformation of the university student’s disposition has brought about new demands, anticipations and opportunities. Consequently, these new developments have challenged universities to develop responsive, up-to-date and seamless learning strategies and experiences that will attract and retain students. The purpose of the study is to profile the geographies of students in the Department of Information Science at the University of South Africa (UNISA).The study adopted a quantitative approach and more specifically the informetric technique of data mining to map the characteristics of LIS students in the Department of Information Science. Overall, the study found that there is a scarcity of knowledge about the contextual realities of students registered in the Department of Information Science at UNISA. It recommends that critical information should be collected beforehand to enable the department to align the realities of students with the courseware, the communication technologies and strategies, the pedagogy, and the resources as well as other considerations.