CENTRAL STUDENT SELECTION PAMELA NEL GAUTENG DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 1 OCTOBER 2009

OVERVIEW  Prior to 1998 – decentralised student selection  Since 1998 – centralised student selection  Selection process  Selection criteria – D4  Three phases of the process  Current situation  Achievements  Challenges  Way forward

PRIOR TO 1998 –DECENRALISED STUDENT SELECTION  8 nursing colleges in Gauteng  - Pretoria region – 3  - West Rand – 1  - Johannesburg region - 5  No standardised selection criteria  Each college received thousands of applications  Applicants applied to more than one college  No dedicated staff for student selection  No central database  Applicants interviewed individually  Costly and time consuming

SINCE 1998 – CENTRALISED STUDENT SELECTION  Four colleges in the province – of which three offer the D4 programme  Gauteng Central Selection Centre  Standardised selection process  Standardised selection criteria  One database of all applications received  Centralised record keeping  Reduced number of applications  Cost effective  Efficient system

SELECTION PROCESS  Gauteng Student Selection Policy – internal and external applicants  Gauteng Student Selection Committee  Standardised selection criteria  One advertisement  Standardised application form  Centralised processing and database - annual  Three phase selection process  Since 2004 – involvement of Gauteng Shared Services Centre

SELECTION CRITERIA  D4 – External applicants - Senior Certificate (Old) - English HG D SG C SG C - M Score – 13 - Maths, Biology, Physical Science - extra points allocated - NSC (New) - English 4 - English 4 -Four 20 credit subjects with a rating of 3 per subject =12 and two subjects with a rating of 2 = 4 and two subjects with a rating of 2 = 4 - M Score Maths, Biology, Physical Science - extra points allocated - One year post-school study successfully completed – above criteria waived  D4 – Internal applicants - Registration as an Auxiliary or Enrolled Nurse - Short-listed according to years of service and when last study leave was granted

THREE PHASES OF THE PROCESS  Phase 1: Short-listing - Paper selection - scoring according to criteria - Database captured - Short-listed for assessment - Notified via SMS and letter – to pay assessment fee  Phase 2 : Assessment per day over a six week period per day over a six week period - HSRC assessment – GMA, English Proficiency, Personality Profile - Short-listed for interview according to ranking  Phase 3 : Interview - Applicants interviewed at the college they indicated as their first choice - Panel interviews conducted – 4 interviewers/ 6 applicants - Interviews conducted by college staff, hospital/clinic staff and a community member member

CURRENT SITUATION  external applications internal applications internal applications  Approximately one third of the applicants met the selection criteria and were short- listed for the assessment  1647 Applicants interviewed at the three colleges by end of September  1330 External applicants to be selected for the D4 programme and 200 for the Enrolled Nurses programme  Applicants not recommended for the four year programme are considered and selected for the Enrolled Nurse programme  Unsuccessful applicants re-apply annually  Extensive marketing and recruitment drives at schools, Career Expo’s and Nursing College open days  Selection Centre coordinates and processes the applications from internal applicants for the Enrolled Nurse and Bridging programme and applications from CHW’s for the Enrolled Nurse programme

ACHIEVEMENTS  Workload shifted from colleges to a Central Selection Centre – coordinated by Head Office  Colleges can focus on the core business of nursing education  Applications from individuals not duplicated  Central database - all applications captured – accurate statistics and weekly reports during the selection period  Call Centre – handles all enquiries and tracks status of applications as per database  Efficient system

CHALLENGES  Ever increasing number of applications  Selection of the most suitable applicants that show potential to succeed  High failure rate in the first year requiring a repeat year of study – however the attrition rate from first year is low – less than 5%  Interviews are time consuming  Remains a costly process  Unsuccessful internal applicants – labour disputes  Selection Centre - work under pressure to meet deadlines

WAY FORWARD  Review of the selection policy – internal applications  Review selection criteria – new NSC and internal applicants  Review the HSRC Assessment

 Thank you