Conference in Durban about the first-year experience

Durban will host the 2018 conference about the first-year experience

The South African National Resource Centre for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition (SANRC) is hosting the 4^th Annual SANRC FYE (first year experience) Conference  on 23 to 25 May 2018. Registration is already open on the website. The early bird is open until 27 February.

The call for papers is also open until 15 March. The following are themes: 

Teaching for first-year success 

Innovative first-year support initiatives 

Measurement and accountability in first-year support services: Are we getting it right?

Orientation programmes as a key element of student support 

Engaging the student voice: Critical Perspectives from students 

International models of first-year support 

Theorising academic support 

The challenge of decolonisation in first-year support.

We know that high school does not really prepare learners to become students in South Africa. Therefore, the first year experience raises lots of questions for which we urgently need answers:

Do we know and understand the multi-faceted needs of first-year students? 

How can we address gaps in our knowledge with an authentic understanding of the first-year as it is experienced by students? 

Do lecturers have the capabilities to meet the needs of these students? 

Can new learning models and technologies create a different learning environment for students? 

To what extent are we evaluating the various academic support programmes offered at South Africa’s universities? 

This conference is designed to thoughtfully consider whether we are giving our students the kinds of meaningful educational experiences which will help them thrive academically and transition successfully through the higher education system.  

This year, the conference will be held at the Garden Court Marine Parade hotel in Durban on the beautiful east coast of South Africa. Durban has numerous awesome beachfront hotels to choose from. And while in Durban, do NOT miss out on a visit to the bird park (see photo above of some of the birds sharing the paths with humans to get around the park). It is really an awesome attraction with much more than just birds, and really not expensive, not even for South Africans.