Council on Higher Education: Three-year Business Plan and MTEF Budget Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training 25 April 2012

Functions 1)Advise Minister on any aspect of higher education. 2)Quality Assurance – auditing of institutional QA mechanisms; programme accreditation; promoting QA. 3)Qualifications framework – development and management of HEQF; standards setting, including naming conventions for qualifications; maintenance of learner database. 4)Publish information/reports on developments in, and the state of, higher education: monitoring function.

Strategic Goals 1.To contribute to the transformation of the HE system through analysis and research to inform the development of higher education policy. 2.To contribute to the development of qualification standards to ensure the relevance, comparability and currency of qualifications. 3.To promote quality and conduct quality assurance in HE, including enhancing the quality of higher education. 4.To ensure the efficient and effective provision of corporate services – administrative, financial, technical and professional, to support the discharge of the core mandate of the CHE.

Goal 1: Research and analysis to inform the development of HE policy Advice to MHET – desirability and feasibility of introducing a 4-year undergraduate diploma/degree structure to address low throughput and graduation rates. Monitoring the state of higher education:  Performance indicators – “at a glance booklets”. Research:  Institutional Governance re: institutions under administration.  State of private higher education.  Student governance.  Meta-analysis of key issues based on the institutional audit reports.

Goal 2: Development of qualification standards Development of HEQF - revised HEQF gazetted in Dec Alignment of existing programmes ( ):  Programmes that need no or only a minor adjustment to align with the HEQF: 60%-70% - completed.  Programmes that require some curriculum development (amounting to a less than 50% change) to align with the HEQF: 25%-30%.  Programmes that cannot be aligned with the HEQF and which will need to be phased out or replaced: 5%. Standards Setting – finalise framework and initiate pilots. HEQCIS review to ensure data on private providers is comparable to public institutions.

Goal 3: To promote quality and quality assurance in Higher Education Institutional Audits: second cycle – pilot in 2013:  Focus on teaching and learning – conceptual assumptions and curriculum and classroom practice.  Rethinking process re: “one-size-fits all” approach given underlying and deep-seated challenges at a number of institutions under administration.  Rethinking methodology re: submission of institutional self-evaluations, site visits by peer panels and final report, all of which is onerous and requires long-timelines. Ongoing monitoring and analysis of progress in implementing improvement plans.

Programme Accreditation:  New programmes – no assessed increasing exponentially.  Re-accreditation of private provider programmes. Finnalise new institutional accreditation framework, including criteria for self-accreditation. National Reviews: Re-accreditation of programmes in particular disciplines; high impact on quality improvement and contributes to standards setting.  Finalise framework for National Reviews.  Programmes to be reviewed: considering social work and law. Joint pilot with SAIP: review of challenges facing the teaching of physics.

Quality Promotion and Capacity Development:  Teaching excellence awards jointly with the Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association of South Africa (HELTASA).  Training of institutional auditors and programme evaluators.  Workshops and publications on best practice.  Quality assurance forums for quality managers at public and private institutions, including statutory professional bodies

Goal 4: Efficient and effective provision of corporate services Human Resources:  Development of recruitment and retention strategy, including review of remuneration framework.  Finalisation of employment equity strategy.  Implementation of staff training and development plan. Finance, administration and supply change:  Compliance with PFMA and Treasury regulations and laws.

MTEF Budget 2012/ / /2054 R'000 R'000 R'000 SUMMARY INCOME 44,451 46,633 48,427 DHET - Government grant 39,237 40,832 43,282 Realisation of Deferred transfers – New Mandate : Standards Setting 3,281 3,317 3,468* Private Accreditation - Cost Recovery 1,289 1,359 1,427 Interest Income EXPENDITURE 44,451 43,928 45,810 CAPEX GOODS & SERVICES 20,160 20,602 21,212 PERSONNEL 23,836 25,