Academic exclusion within higher education institutions has been an alarming global issue that has resulted in a vast number of policies aimed at combating the exclusion. In South Africa, exclusion is deeply rooted in the historical inequalities that continue to render access to higher education a complex process as visibly evidenced by structural and personal constraints even after 27 years of democracy. Content analysis in this article illuminates various factors that contribute to the

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... on or loneliness students feel in higher education. This manifests as poor performance, high dropout, and low throughput rates attributable to unsuccessful negotiation, integration, and adaptation to face-to-face and virtual academic spaces. Over the years, South African universities introduced academic mentoring programmes aimed at eliminating epistemic exclusion through a more responsive, integrative, and inclusive higher education system. Nonetheless, students' emotional and mental wellbeing, and their ability to integrate and establish interactional relationships have been compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the article rethinks inclusion in higher education, it interrogates the meaning of academic mentoring programmes for historically excluded students in a context where teaching and learning are spontaneously shifting to virtual spaces due to the pandemic. Keywords: academic exclusion, COVID-19, digital exclusion, higher education, online learning