I am a resident of Stellenbosch and I am concerned about the increase in student numbers over the last few years.
I have shared this concern with other residents who have also noted an increase in traffic and general congestion in the town, and we are wondering what the university’s policy is on student numbers. When will the university decide they have reached maximum capacity?
I have also heard from current students that some classes are so full that some students have to sit on the floor because lecture halls cannot house them. It will also be of interest to know how much student numbers have increased over the past five years.
I am fully aware that many people from other provinces and countries have also moved to our lovely town and that tourist numbers have increased post-Covid, so I am specifically requesting information about student numbers.
Martin Viljoen, spokesperson for Stellenbosch University (SU), responds:
For the 2024 academic year, 23 420 undergraduate students enrolled at SU by the end of the registration period, including 6 995 newcomer first-year undergraduate students, which is 725 more than last year’s first-year intake. They are spread over the Stellenbosch, Tygerberg and Saldanha campuses.
There could be various reasons for the increase in student numbers including more students viewing Stellenbosch as an academic destination. SU does not “plan” to take in more students. In fact, SU, for some years and the foreseeable future, plans to take in 5 700 first-year students.
Enrolment planning in the South African public higher-education sector is complex and is becoming more complex due to increasing external pressures on the higher education sector and the economy. Enrolment management, that is the execution of internal university processes to reach the planned enrolment targets, is even more challenging as prospective students apply to more than one university, making enrolment rates are very difficult to predict.
Participation rates in public universities are expected to increase from over 937 000 students in 2011 to about 1,8 million enrolments in 2030. The planned expansion of access by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DET) impacts on individual universities’ enrolment figures.
SU manages its enrolments within the parameters of the DET directives on enrolment planning. It can’t show students away after they have met the specific admission requirements of programmes and been offered a place. In some faculties more offers were made than the previous year, and in some more students accepted the offers in 2024.
In addition, the number of SU-registered vehicles (by students) have not increased much since last year.
While there is an increase in student numbers the town is also growing, as can be seen in several new residential developments being built on the outskirts of the town.?Stellenbosch has a thriving economy, and various commercial opportunities have also increased commuter traffic in the area.
The university is in regular discussion with Stellenbosch Municipality on the management of these matters.
