Abstract: The students enrolled at Sol Plaatje University (SPU) come from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds that give them different life experiences, educational opportunities and different expectations. The purpose of this article is to establish the factors that accounted for the academic success of the first group of students who enrolled for the diploma: Retail Business Management at the newly established SPU in 2014. The students (N = 35) answered a questionnaire consisting of (45) close-ended questions and one open ended question. The data was analyzed and the findings showed certain factors that have a positive influence on the students’ academic success in 2014.