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The complex application process at the postgraduate level became a major blamer for poor doctorate enrolments. The complexity in the communication messages made it difficult for prospective postgraduate students to absorb information effectively. The proposal by the government to increase masters' and doctorate enrolments at universities requires universities to cater to the needs of customers whose preferences and expectations change continuously. The research upon which this paper was based was aimed at identifying the information needs of prospective postgraduates at public universities. The study design is quantitative, employing a descriptive technique and cross-sectional method. For the empirical study, a non-probability sampling method was utilized to obtain data from a sample of 116 masters’ and doctorate students. Descriptive statistics described the main features of the collected data through frequencies, tables, and bar charts. Inferential statistics were used to determine relationships between variables and test the significance, and reliability of the findings. Emphasis on university processes and specific aspects of the expected and augmented product were found. Interestingly, the importance attached to getting information about economic incentives significantly outweighs the importance attached to receiving information about the actual product. The results of this study affirm the assertion that the postgraduate market is unique and has unique information needs. The results provide universities with a guideline to identify the information needs of prospective postgraduate students applying for master's and doctorate studies at public universities.  The study limitation is that it encompasses only a small number of registered master’s and doctoral students in KwaZulu-Natal, limiting the possibility of generalizing the results to all prospective postgraduate students in South Africa.

This article explores the nature of supervisor-supervisee relations at a rurally located institution of Higher Learning. Although the university is an organization of writing retreats, literature provides little insight into the crucial role these academic activities play in enhancing supervisor-supervisee skills and language competence among authors. The process of supervisor-supervisee takes place with the assumption that it yields the intended output of increasing postgraduate research output. Despite the call by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) for increased postgraduate throughput, some Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDI) have not shown the required throughput rate. The main aim of this study was to explore the nature of the supervisor-supervisee relationship in a rurally located university. Twelve participants, six (6) research supervisors, and six (6) postgraduate students were purposively sampled as relevant for this study. For data gathering purposes, the authors interviewed the participants through the administration of the semi-structured interviews.  Contained in the interview schedule were open-ended questions, which allowed for robust discussions between the interviewers and the interviewees. Atlas Ti software was used to analyse data according to themes and categories. The main findings of the study demonstrate that postgraduate students are confronted with a range of difficulties, including (i) communication impediments and (ii) resource limitations, which are exacerbated by the heavy workload of supervisors. The study recommends the need to strengthen postgraduate research supervision capacity to enhance research quality. The study advocates for enhanced postgraduate research mentoring and personalized research support that might assist in nurturing a well-informed generation of scholars who can positively contribute to the academic fraternity.

This article explores the nature of supervisor-supervisee relations at a rurally located institution of Higher Learning. Although the university is an organization of writing retreats, literature provides little insight into the crucial role these academic activities play in enhancing supervisor-supervisee skills and language competence among authors. The process of supervisor-supervisee takes place with the assumption that it yields the intended output of increasing postgraduate research output. Despite the call by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) for increased postgraduate throughput, some Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDI) have not shown the required throughput rate. The main aim of this study was to explore the nature of the supervisor-supervisee relationship in a rurally located university. Twelve participants, six (6) research supervisors, and six (6) postgraduate students were purposively sampled as relevant for this study. For data gathering purposes, the authors interviewed the participants through the administration of the semi-structured interviews.  Contained in the interview schedule were open-ended questions, which allowed for robust discussions between the interviewers and the interviewees. Atlas Ti software was used to analyse data according to themes and categories. The main findings of the study demonstrate that postgraduate students are confronted with a range of difficulties, including (i) communication impediments and (ii) resource limitations, which are exacerbated by the heavy workload of supervisors. The study recommends the need to strengthen postgraduate research supervision capacity to enhance research quality. The study advocates for enhanced postgraduate research mentoring and personalized research support that might assist in nurturing a well-informed generation of scholars who can positively contribute to the academic fraternity.

The complex application process at the postgraduate level became a major blamer for poor doctorate enrolments. The complexity in the communication messages made it difficult for prospective postgraduate students to absorb information effectively. The proposal by the government to increase masters' and doctorate enrolments at universities requires universities to cater to the needs of customers whose preferences and expectations change continuously. The research upon which this paper was based was aimed at identifying the information needs of prospective postgraduates at public universities. The study design is quantitative, employing a descriptive technique and cross-sectional method. For the empirical study, a non-probability sampling method was utilized to obtain data from a sample of 116 masters’ and doctorate students. Descriptive statistics described the main features of the collected data through frequencies, tables, and bar charts. Inferential statistics were used to determine relationships between variables and test the significance, and reliability of the findings. Emphasis on university processes and specific aspects of the expected and augmented product were found. Interestingly, the importance attached to getting information about economic incentives significantly outweighs the importance attached to receiving information about the actual product. The results of this study affirm the assertion that the postgraduate market is unique and has unique information needs. The results provide universities with a guideline to identify the information needs of prospective postgraduate students applying for master's and doctorate studies at public universities.  The study limitation is that it encompasses only a small number of registered master’s and doctoral students in KwaZulu-Natal, limiting the possibility of generalizing the results to all prospective postgraduate students in South Africa.