Abstract:
Students’ representative formations in institutions of higher learning are
responsible for governance and administration of students’ academic
matters. That is, they lead and represent students on various platforms
on or outside university campuses. For the Student Representative Council
(SRC) to be truly representative, it has to have information about
matters affecting students and also how the university functions. This will
enable students to access information on policies, academic rules and
any other information that affect them. The term access, in this article,
is taken to mean ability to obtain, read, understand and apply the information
efficiently and effectively. It is imperative for students to know
the role of the SRC, its activities and challenges that affect students.
This will allow active participation of students in university activities and
SRC administration to enhance students’ wellbeing at the university. This
article argues that there are many students who need SRC intervention
upon violation of certain academic policies and rules. It is worth noting
however, that due to the inaccessibility of SRC, some of such students
are left with little or no information to address their challenges. This is
in spite of the fact that the SRC is mostly considered to be better positioned
to educate and make information accessible to the students. It
is for this reason that this article has sought to investigate how the SRC
at the University of Limpopo learn about student’s information needs. It
is important that students get the right information, at the right time, at
the right place, in the right format using the right information dissemination
channel. Moreover to evaluate the dissemination channels in use to
reach the entire student body. The article concludes by illustrating how
the accessibility of such channels can be improved
