The Effectiveness of the Extended Accounting Academic Programmes: A Comparison with Mainstream Programmes

The South African higher education institutions use extended academic programmes to afford access to high school graduates (matriculants) who would otherwise not meet the admission criteria in the regular academic programmes. In their first year, the students in an extended programme are registered for bridging courses meant to improve their readiness for the rigour of the regular academic programmes. This study investigates the effectiveness of extended programmes by focusing on the Extended Diploma programmes offered in the Accounting and Finance department at the Walter Sisulu University. Using an experiment approach, the throughput rates of the extended programme students are compared to the rates achieved by the regular diploma programmes. The study covers a period from 2014 to 2020 and data is obtained from the institutional records. The study hypothesized that due to the bridging courses offered in the first year, students in the extended diploma programmes perform equally well as students registered in the regular diploma programmes.