Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN Dhaya Naidoo Director: Quality Promotion The HEQC Audit 23 January 2006

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN HEQC External Audit  The HE Act (1997) assigned higher education quality assurance to the CHE  The CHE discharges this responsibility via its permanent sub-committee, the HEQC  The HEQC executes this mandate via three primary instruments:  Programme Accreditation (All new programmes)  National Reviews (MBA; Teacher Education)  Institutional Audits  All higher education institutions will be audited in cycle  TUT is the first merged institution scheduled for April 16-20, 2007.

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN Audit Focus Areas TUT’s policies, systems, procedures, strategies and resources for quality management of:  Teaching and Learning,  Research  Community Engagement,  Academic Support Services.  Quality Assurance of Delegated Functions  Short Courses  Assessor Training  Moderation of Assessment  Certification  RPL.

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN Audit Focus Areas The audit will assess whether TUT manages the quality of its core academic activities in a manner that:  Is fit for purpose in advancing the institution’s mission and goals.  Addresses transformational challenges for the development of individual learners as well as the requirements of social and economic development.  Provides value for money in relation to the full range of higher education purposes.  That mission and academic activities take into account national priorities and needs, as well responsiveness to regional, continental and international imperatives.

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN AREA 1 Fitness of purpose of institutional mission, goals and objectives in response to the local, national and international contexts (including transformation issues) Criterion 1 Links between planning, resource allocation and quality management Criterion 2 Bench- marking, User Surveys Impact Studies Cr 19 SCOPE OF HEQC AUDIT

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN SCOPE OF HEQC AUDIT Teaching and LearningResearch Teaching and Learning Cr 3,4,5,6 Programme Development, Management & Review Cr 7,8,9,10 Student Assessment & Success Cr 11,12,13,14 General Research Cr 15 In depth Research Cr 16 AREA 2 Community Engagement Postgraduate Education Cr 17 Community Engagement Cr 18 Bench- marking, User Surveys Impact Studies Cr 19

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN Criterion Driven Audit 19 broad criteria constitute the audit framework  Evaluative tool  Set broad benchmarks for quality management in higher education.  Address the different stages of academic planning and operations at institutional level  Internal analytical and diagnostic instrument  Treatment of criteria needs to include descriptive, evaluative and analytic narrative  Illustrative data, where appropriate  Evidence to support claims  Organizational self-knowledge (how HEIs work)

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN HEQC Open Ended Questions  What are the unique and distinctive ways in which TUT enriches and adds excellence to the higher education sector and society, nationally, regionally and internationally?  What does TUT do to produce a vibrant intellectual culture within the institution and in society at large?  In what ways does TUT act as an incubator of new ideas and cutting edge knowledge and technologies within the national system of innovation?  What are some of the notable examples in the last three years of institutional success in promoting and enhancing quality?

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN Audit Outcomes  Institution  Conducts institutional self-assessment  Provides evidence for claims made in its self- evaluation report in relation to the criteria.  Providing indicators of success and evidence of effectiveness takes the criteria beyond a checklist of policies and procedures.  Generates Institutional Audit Portfolio (IAP)  Self-Assessment Report  Portfolio of Evidence  Improvement Deployment Plan

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN Audit Outcomes  HEQC  Evaluation of IAP by external peers  Validates institution’s capacity for self- evaluation  Assesses institution’s capacity for intervention, where needed  Evaluates claims and evidence by triangulating information in IAP with DOE HEMIS data, site visits, staff and student interviews and internal MIS  Generate an audit report – summary of commendations and recommendations in the public domain

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN Recent HEQC Audit Observations  Open Ended Questions  At the heart of the HE endeavour  Sustenance, growth and reproduction of intellectual capital  Are we short-changing learners and/or academics?  Under-emphasised in 2004 audits  Important driver of self-evaluation activities (Courtesy HEQC: 2004)

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN Recent HEQC Audit Observations  Criteria  Over-emphasis on descriptive  Pre-occupation with policies (often ‘wet paint’)  Limited presence of evaluative narrative  Limited analysis or explanation  Limited sensitivity to change management issues (Courtesy HEQC: 2004)

Directorate of Quality Promotion QP_DN Audit Expectations  Identify gaps, rather than fill them  Policies alone are insufficient  Need clear view of implementation of established initiatives  Acknowledge long-term embedding needed for new initiatives  Acknowledge change management measures needed  Aim for a better balance between open-ended questions and 19 criteria  How do the 19 criteria strengthen the knowledge project?  Balance a comprehensive array of policies and the evaluation of institutional strategies and measures in implementation (Courtesy HEQC: 2004)