The University of Stellenbosch (SU) has started engagements with students on plans to increase the number of “mixed or co-ed” residences to meet the growing number of female students.
According to the university, one in seven female students received a place at a residence, while one in five male applicants secured a place this year.
Spokesperson Martin Viljoen said over the past two decades, the percentage of female students at the university steadily increased to where it currently stood, at 58% of the total undergraduate student population.
“This is largely a result of more women having access to higher education, both nationally and globally. Women are twice as likely to enrol at university, according to the Gender Fact Sheet (March 2020 and 2021) published by the Department of Higher Education and Training, and women now account for 58% of South African students in tertiary education,” he said.
Currently, there are 14 mixed residences at the university, including Goldfields, Metanoia, Huis Neethling, Lobelia, Concordia, Huis MacDonald, Ubuntu and Nkosi Johnson House.
Now the university is exploring ways to catch up with the student trends and meet the needs of its female student population.
Of the first-year applications received for a place in residence this year, 37% were males and 63% females.
The university had 5 579 beds available in undergraduate residences on campus.
“First-year spaces are not fixed and will vary depending on the number of senior students who move out in a particular year. This year, first-year students' placement ratio at residences on the Stellenbosch campus was 49% for males and 51% for females,” said Viljoen.
The university wanted to achieve a 60/40 residence placement split in favour of female students in its residences in 2024.
“An increase over the next few years to 60% of the available places will bring SU closer to a more equitable gender split,” said Viljoen.
A working group to be spearheaded by Dr Choice Makhetha, senior director: Student Affairs, has been set up to formulate proposals for the phased-in implementation of the proposed 60/40 residence placement policy.
So far, residences had yet to be identified for reconfiguration but the committee would also consider financial implications, infrastructure requirements, and student community environments.
Chairperson of the Student Representative Council (SRC) Masilo Silokazi also believed that there was a need to increase female student placement in residences.
“A committee within the SRC has started canvassing views from the student community which will be compiled into a proposal,” said Silokazi.
Other universities that had long-established mixed or co-ed residences, included UCT, Wits, UWC and CPUT.
Wits said that of its 14 residences, five were mixed residences.
However, first-year students were placed in same-sex residences with an option to be in mixed residences as they progressed.
“As students mature in the university environment, they grow in confidence and learn to co-exist regardless of gender, race, and class, which is beneficial for their development as they get socialised into the bigger society in preparation for the working world,“ spokesperson Buhle Zuma said.
Security needs were also taken into consideration when managing the mixed residences, including the provision of security staff and installation of CCTV cameras at other institutions.
“In mixed-gender residences, men and women are accommodated on separate floors. All residences have strict access control and most are covered by closed-circuit television,” said UCT spokesperson, Elijah Moholola.
At UWC all senior and postgraduate residences are co-ed.
“The first-year residences are single-ed, male and female. The rationale behind the separation is to assist students with the adaptation and transition into a “new living and learning environment,” said spokesperson, Gasant Abarder.
He added that post-1994, integrated residences “became the norm”.
Allocation of residences at CPUT has in recent years been done on a faculty or course basis, according to spokesperson, Lauren Kansley.
“This means we can allocate space to students closest to their building or campus, it enhances peer education and tutoring. We always opt to have our first years as close to campus as possible,” she said.