After many years of hard work to gain the high TERs needed for the course that will lead to their career of choice, a horrifically large number of students make rapid exits from the system. They don't succeed, don't seek help, are unable to explain what is going wrong when asked, and do not respond to improvements in teaching that produce dramatic gains in other students. Small classes encourage trusts between students and teacher, questions from students, confident student participation, and provide constant feedback, all leading to quality outcomes. Teachers manage subjects for their students, keep track of tasks that must be done and provide detailed breakdowns of the criteria and timelines for completion. While students are usually pleased to see the end of this teacher dependence, they often have not learned how to manage their own learning when cast into the tertiary arena.
Inspired teachers exist but they have to be sought out and valued.
All courses expect students to do large amounts of work on their own, but rarely check to ensure that this happens. Consequently students do not regard the work as necessary or important, and fail to do it. Teachers know them and care about them. Suddenly at university this is all taken away. As one of thousands at a vast and rather impersonal campus, many students feel overwhelmed and intimidated.