Measuring the Impact of an Academic Literacy Programme at a South African University of Technology

Abstract

Academic literacy programs have become an inherent feature of South African universities. They are a form of intervention aimed at helping first-year students boost their levels of academic literacy so that their chance of success at the university is enhanced. It is important therefore, that such programs are investigated for the impact they can make. In the present paper, a pre-post research design was employed to measure the impact of a course of academic literacy among students who were not simultaneously enrolled in any university course that could lead to them achieving incidental growth in academic literacy. In other words, at the time the study was conducted, the participants took this academic literacy course only. The results showed that there was a difference in the levels of academic literacy levels of these students after they had attended the course.