Selection as contract to teach at the student's level. Experiences from a South African mathematics and science foundation year

The selection of students is a critical issue currently facing South Africa n higher education institutions. The identification and selection of disadv antaged students with the potential to succeed in mathematics- and science- based study is a particularly pressing problem. The new South African highe r education law requires that selection is done in a fair and transparent m anner. Selection has to be followed by adequate support for selected studen ts to succeed in their study programmes. Issues of access are closely coupl ed to issues of retention and success. The research results discussed in th is paper illustrate how these issues can be successfully addressed and how selection fairness and effectiveness may be optimised under the constraints of selection efficiency. An optimal solution can be found by developing te st specifications and selection cut-off values based on the teaching progra mme for which the selection is done. The resulting close fit between select ion testing and teaching after selection leads to a reasonable expectation of success for selected students in the study programme. Under such conditi ons, selection can be seen as a contract to teach at the student's level.