The sustainability of higher education institutions is affected various things, particularly by student satisfaction and the financial stability of the institution. An analysis of student attrition and retention plays a vital role in assessing the sustainability of a higher education institution.Using suitable analysis techniques to do success profiling of prospective and current students is crucial for students and institutions alike. Success/risk estimation is essential for any higher education institution (HEI), because determining such factors can assist higher education institutions in fulfilling their obligation to provide support, guidance and interventions for their prospective and existing students. Strategic decisions in this regard, by both students and institutions, should be based on valid and reliable profiles. The validation of established profiles increases the accuracy of existing profiles and increases the efficiency of institutional strategic planning.This article reports on the validation of a success profile for first year Accounting students established by the authors of this article in an earlier study in an open and distance learning (ODL) environment at the University of South Africa.

Higher education institutions in the South African context are no exceptions to the international concerns on student throughput and retention. Against these wider discourses on student throughput, this article focuses on specifically the repeater student in first-year accounting at the University of South Africa (Unisa), an open and distance learning (ODL) institution. There is no grand predictive theory to explain successfully student retention or disengagement in all contexts. Published research furthermore reports on the impact of different interventions on student retention and persistence but these findings are context-specific and not in toto valid for other contexts. The possible impact of students becoming aware of their risk profile was the focus of this research. In the light of international literature on self-authoring and attribution, a self-assessment questionnaire based on a predictive model was drafted as a pilot study and sent to repeater students. This pilot study found that the completion of the questionnaire has impacted positively on repeater students' performance. The findings also provide pointers to increase such an intervention's reliability.Autopoiesis, open and distance learning (ODL), risk awareness, throughput,

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