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Background: Students’ educational experiences have become increasingly important, as Higher education Institutions (HEIs) have attempted to become more student-centered learning. The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching and learning experience of first and third students in a selected University of Technology in South Africa.

Methodology: In this paper, an interpretive research paradigm was followed to explore the experiences of first- and third-year students on student-centered teaching and learning in a selected University of Technology, South Africa. The study incorporated semi-structured focus group interviews conducted with 20 students drawn from two selected departments. The collected data were transcribed and thematic analysis with the aid of Nvivo 12 software 2023.

Results: The study identified both satisfying and dissatisfying student experiences of the teaching and learning in the selected University of Technology. Students were satisfied with the caring attitude, empathic, and courteous behaviour of the staff. Nevertheless, students were dissatisfied with the teaching abilities of the lecturers, incessant strike, overcrowding and state of the lecture venues, workloads and timetables, and lack of tutors to facilitate additional assistance and support, especially to struggling and at-risk students.

Conclusions: The study suggests that the learning environment is essential in the implementation of student-centered teaching and learning strategies. As such, it is of critical importance for the selected university to improve the service quality of the teaching and learning for a satisfied student’s experience in their bid to achieving student centered teaching and learning.