For the College:

The cost of failure and dropout of a student is a costly affair. Such costs become astronomical when quantified over a college population. Brand damage also ensues for the college. A student may face multiple risks during the study journey. More often and based on research, students often fail a course or drop out due to low levels of literacy and numeracy. There may also be hidden disabilities present. The College Profiler screener system identifies the basic skill levels such as literacy and numeracy requirements for a course.

This minimum requirement screening enables and informs course alignment averting immediate catastrophe due to mismatched and basic skill requirements.

Additionally, the screener collects collateral information through a series of assessments. The 360-degree profile informs college staff about the necessary support requirements. High-level data will let college management see an array of statistics for the entire college, per campus, course, course categories, specific courses and even specific classes or groups of students. The high-level data informs planning and resourcing at a college-wide level or informs a particular intervention. The Colleg Profiler system allows lecturers access, albeit at classroom level only, to interact and study the student data. Lecturer input allows student support to “become everyone’s business”,  while the Profiler assessments form part of evidence-based interventions. The TVET College Profiler delivers clear and concise reports. Currently, there are close to 100 TVET College courses loaded on the system. College staff can customise courses and edit as per the college requirements. Outlined below are some additional benefits of the College Profiler system:

For Student Support Management:

Streamlines and aligns the registration process with administration. (Bursary support, additional disability support and accommodations).

Informs government statisticsAssists with the creation of a disabled-student database.

Ensures students are enrolled for the correct course.

Increases retention by assisting in the matching of student skills to course needs.

Streamline and improve the efficiency of screening for support services.

Remote monitoring of service delivery.

For Student Support Officers:

It helps to understand the weaknesses (e.g. literacy) of the student.

It helps to understand the support needs of the student (e.g. an evening study venue).

Signposts appropriate services to the student.

It connects students with support requirements to resources.

Tracks improvement over time.

For Lecturers:

Able to identify students who may need adapted materials.

Able to identify students who require curriculum adaptation.

Assist with the identification of psychological and classroom support needs.

For the Individual Student:

Assistance in Career Choice via career guidance/placement.

Ensures the student has the minimum skills that are sufficient for the applied course.

Receives self-help advice on study skills.

Assistance in applications for disability support.

The basis for the provision of student support counselling.

Provision of the Placement Report – mandatory for access to enrolment.

They Said It Could Not Be Done. Now Distance Screening is Happening in South Africa!

Covid-19: For Safe Pre-Registration Placement Screening

The College Profiler can access via your College Website or Facebook page to screen students remotely. A college can save thousands of hours in administration by testing students remotely. Remote testing of prospective students eliminates the need for on-site social distancing protocols, disinfection headaches, computer lab space constraints and, of course, reduce the workload for overworked staff! Currently, together with online applications, Placement tests are done off-site in many colleges across South Africa.