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Fit for purpose – tracking the quality of university education of entry-level journalists
Guy Berger, 10 June 2005
Ubani?
PHAMBILI …1. Serving the industry debate
2. Context: SA’s HE landscape
3. HEQC’s “fit for purpose”
4. Going beyond … to assessing impact
5. UK and US quality audits
6. Methodologies
7. Reference point: media’s “fit for purpose”
A: KUNZIMA• Industry point of reference
• Tension: “admin” vs “critical” journ ed.
Industry Academy
•Prod/professional skills
•Vocational
•External orientation
•Administrative
•Theory, concepts
•Academic
•Internal orientation
•Critical
Vs
Vs
Vs
Vs
A: KUNZIMA•Prod/professional skills
•Vocational
•External orientation
•Administrative
•Theory, concepts
•Academic
•Internal orientation
•Critical
Vs
Vs
Vs
Vs
•Theory embedded in Prod/Professional
•Prod skills ≠ vocation per se (eg. mm, WED)
•Academic ≠ internal orientation (topical)
•Critical can be in all these
BUT:
IMPUMELELO
• Have to cover all bases & tensions
• Bigger issue not university-academy: but contribution to society.
– media not endpoint, but a means …
• Practical connection: USA 71%
• But, beware simple cause-effect
GENERAL:
• Locate academy-industry relations in global “Quality” debate
• About valuing – and investing – in ed.
• HEQC: teaching, learning + Comm Service
• Calls to define missions to our situ.
• = Reference pt for quality assessments.
B: UMHLABA
• Past: reputation, peer • “Customer satisfaction” measure. • “Fit for purpose” – whose purpose?
– VCs: self-referential interpretation.– NCHE: value for $ to stakeholders
• But: Students not customers• But: Many stakeholders; whose priority?• But: Perspective = follow, not lead, “mkt”
= critique? Hayi!
QUALITY - YINTONI LE?
• Overall quality can be negated by weakest link.
• Some say: what a grad can do;• Others: must take account of effects and
benefits of academic education.• If purpose is (critical) contrib to media,
failure there = chain of quality undermined.• Need to assess actual “fit” empirically. • Fit for purpose has to apply to media too.
THETHA!
C: NGESI & AMELIKA
• Sheffield, Westminster, City Leicester, Leeds, Central Lancashire,
• Many have vocational missions/purposes.
• Audits rarely assess this.
• No attention to efficiency (cost) issues
• Few have critical components in mission
• Only one assessed for this – superficially.
ACEJMC accredits – 108 schools
• 12 universal standards (not fit 4 own purpose)
• Includes diversity criteria (courses, people)
• Includes comm service & alumni relations.
• No probe if grads actually join industry.
MISSING IN UK & US:
– (a) grads becoming journos;
– (b) with what effect?
ENYE INTO:
D: IBETHA!
• HEQC urges impact assessment 4 quality• HEQC urges benchmarks (allows ratings)• Impact on whom, intended & unintended?• Cover KAP and RLAP• Reaction: attitude to journ ed.• Learning: what was learnt• Application: what is applied• Pay-off: what diffs are made.• 360 degree research needed.
Alumni surveys:
• Attitude: towards “unethical” practices
• Learning: “when use un-named sources?”
• Application: “have you implemented?”
• Pay-off: “have you persuaded newsroom?”
• Complexity: Baseline needed re: before grad went into the media.
• Using the findings …
IMIBUZO
E: SIQIBILE
• What is the value (i.e. quality) of journ ed?• i.e. impact of grads on & via media.• NB to “admin” v “critical” debate.• NB in context of HEQC & SA univs.• Need expanded view of “fit for purpose”• UK and US systems fall short. • Need to assess media’s own “fit for
purpose” in SA.
Ndiyabulela, abahlohli bam!
Ngoku, masithethe!