  We use gradient boosting machines and logistic regression to predict academic
throughput at a South African university. The results highlight the significant
influence of socio-economic factors and field of study as predictors of
throughput. We further find that socio-economic factors become less of a
predictor relative to the field of study as the time to completion increases.
We provide recommendations on interventions to counteract the identified
effects, which include academic, psychosocial and financial support.
