Students Left to Teach Themselves Before Exams

I enrolled in the BA Honours in Digital Marketing at AAA School of Advertising expecting a balance between independent learning and structured academic support. I was also informed that the programme would include evening classes, which played a role in my decision to register.

Unfortunately, the experience has not matched those expectations. Many of us have felt that there has been very little teaching and limited academic support. Our biggest concern is that we are expected to be assessed on content that has not been taught, while still being required to demonstrate critical understanding and application of that content.

They have what is called workshops, which happen once a month and that is just a session where they outline the requirements for the assignments. There is actually little to no teaching in this course.

Ironically, one of the most valuable learning experiences this semester came when the Dean personally stepped in to facilitate one workshop. During that session, he properly taught several units across two modules, breaking down the concepts and helping students understand both the theory and its practical application.

That session demonstrated the kind of academic engagement many of us had expected when enrolling in the programme. Unfortunately, it was the exception rather than the norm.

They simply provide course material and leave you to comprehend the theory and its application yourself.

The result is that students are expected to learn, understand, and apply the theory largely on their own. My concern is not with independent learning itself, but with the expectation that students will be assessed on content that has received little to no formal teaching engagement.

Had I understood that the programme would operate in this manner, I would have considered a more affordable online course with a similar self-study approach.

For a programme costing around R70,000, I expected a significantly higher level of academic engagement, teaching support, and lecturer interaction.