Don’t fear – the campus offers her a second chance through its Bridging the Mathematical Gap programme.

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“This  programme aims to assist students to improve their performance in mathematics and allows them access to degree programmes that require a sound mathematical basis, such as BCom and BSc IT,” explains Prof Herman van der Merwe, executive dean of the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Information Technology.

Earning enough points

As at all South African universities, prospective NWU students also have to comply with the required Academic Performance Scale (APS) for a particular degree.

“If a prospective student lacks only one point on his or her APS, or if it is only the lower-than-required mark for mathematics that prevents admission, such a student can be admitted provisionally,” says Daleen Gerber, director of the School of Information Technology. (Click here to read more about the APS.)

Then, after passing the Bridging the Mathematical Gap programme at the beginning of an academic year, the student may enrol for the ordinary programmes within the BCom field and BSc IT.

If a student does not pass the bridging programme, but has a final mark of between 40% and 49%, he or she may enrol in one of the extended programmes offered on the campus. (In an extended programme students spread their courses over four rather than three years.)

Covering the basics

The bridging programme’s syllabus covers the basic mathematical concepts which are taught from Grade 8 onwards and the application of these concepts in accordance with the outcomes specified in the Grade 12 curriculum. In short: its intensified focus on the entire mathematical spectrum serves as pre-knowledge for the mathematics modules in the BSc IT and BCom curricula.

In the case of a degree programme such as BSc IT, mathematics is the cornerstone of all natural sciences subjects; in BCom programmes, mathematics is used to calculate logarithms and exponential functions, for example.