Mamelodi Pre-University Academy

Abstract

The University of Pretoria adopted an anchor institution strategy and designated the Mamelodi Campus as a Faculty with a focus on community engagement with the primary goal of broadening educational pathways to post-secondary school attainment.  This paper provides an overview of how two strategic goals of the University namely, widening access and success and strengthening social responsiveness have manifested over a decade through designating STEM access programmes to a campus located in the impoverished township, Mamelodi.  The anchor mission entails improvement of the access programmes through incorporating the student voice, as well the improvement of After-School Programmes (ASPs) by formalizing a Pre-University Academy (PUA). The PUA is a signature academic programme geared towards fostering articulation between the high school initiatives, access programmes and the mainstream programmes to ensure a seamless transition from secondary school to graduation. The paper provides lessons drawn from the provision of the programmes which resulted in “forward and backward” articulation to close the school-university gap while addressing systemic educational problems left by the legacy of apartheid. The paper further elaborates on the process followed to cement the anchor mission through the PUA as well as make recommendations to strengthen anchor institution strategy efforts in similar contexts.