Volume 4 Issue 2

U P D A T E O N K N O W L E D G E C OU P D A T E O N K N O W L E D G E C O -- O P P I L O T P R O J E C TO P P I L O T P R O J E C T

FEBRUARY 2012

INSTITUTIONAL PLANNING DEPARTMENT

Postgraduate Cohort 2

Teaching & Learning 2

Internship 3

Rhythm Generation 3

Student Quality Forum 4

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

BARBARA SCHMID — PROJECT MANAGER

T he UCT Knowledge Co-op acts as an avenue for exter-nal constituencies to access the resources and profes-

sional expertise within the university around problems they experience. Based in the Institutional Planning department it draws on expertise from all faculties. The facility was officially launched on 22 August. Some 100 guests representing community groups, academics and a few students at-tended the event. The programme introduced the

Knowledge Co-op by showcasing some of the projects underway through the experiences of these different stakeholder groups as well as the project manager. The Univer-sity‟s expectations and perspective were reflected by Vice Chancellor Max Price and two of his deputies, Prof Crain Soudien and Prof Danie Visser. (See (http://www.uct.ac.za/mondaypaper/?id=8763 for a detailed report.)

During 2011 the first round of ten projects were conducted. The topics ranged from diffi-culties in adhering to anti-retroviral treatment to conditions for starting as an entrepreneur in Cape Town; they examined exit models for pros-tituted women and the design for low-cost fenc-ing or an electronic database. With most of the 2011 projects completed we are looking for students to take up some of the

over 30-project ideas submitted to the Co-op by a variety of new community partners.

These range from requests to support officials responsible for tourism development in local mu-nicipalities, to studying the per-ceptions of risk related to smok-ing a hookah pipe; from the evaluation of educational inter-ventions of NGOs to development of websites for community based groups or a new knowledge man-agement centre for a municipal department. In September the Co-op hosted Dr Henk Mulder, long-time direc-tor of a science shop in Gronin-

gen University and one of the leaders of the international net-work of Science shops. His exper-tise was helpful for the various groups responsible for taking the UCT Knowledge Co-op beyond a pilot project and for exploring possibilities for projects in the Faculties of Science and Engi-neering. (See http://www.knowledgeco-op.uct.ac.za)

S A A I R F O R U MS A A I R F O R U M

O ne of IPD‟s highlights in 2011 was acting as the host of the eighteenth annual Southern African Association for Institutional Research (SAAIR)

Forum which took place from 11-13 of October at the Milnerton lagoon beach hotel. This year‟s theme was „enhancement‟ - de-signed to provide opportunities for critical self-reflection for institutional researchers, plan-ners, quality assurance professionals, adminis-trators and academics, on how evidence-based practices can be used to improve the quality of teaching practice and graduate at-tributes. The key note speakers included: Dr Saleem Badat, Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University; Prof Geoff Scott, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Quality) of the University of Western Sydney, and Prof Ulrich Teichler, based at the International

Centre for Higher Education (INCHER), univer-sity of Kassel, Germany. Altogether 36 papers were presented at the conference. Two workshops on „Quality Re-views of Service and Support Divisions‟ and „Offering of joint and double degrees with for-eign universities‟ also took place prior to the main forum. A selection of the papers will be published in a Special Issue of the South African Journal of Higher Education in 2012. At the end of the forum Prof Gerrie Jacobs from the University of Johannesburg said “A Forum like this doesn‟t just happen - many people spent hours and days on organization. Judy Favish and her UCT team deserve our much appreciated gratitude and felicitation.”

PAGE 2 IN STI TUTIO N AL PL AN N IN G D EPAR TMEN T

P O S T G R A D U A T E C O H O R T R E P O R TP O S T G R A D U A T E C O H O R T R E P O R T

T racking postgraduates can be quite complicated as essentially two or even three different databases are used.

The HEMIS (Higher Education Manage-ment Information System) database gives a base or audited number of first time en-tering masters and Doctoral students (EP FP and TP) for which faculties receive sub-sidies. However, if students register in the sec-ond semester they will only appear in the following year‟s HEMIS submission as NP

entrance category and so are never tracked in this report. In addition, until 2006 it was not possible to differentiate between course work and research masters, which have different trajectories. The PG (Post Graduate) Cohort report was first presented to the Board for Gradu-ate Studies in 2009, tracking first time entering masters and Doctoral students in the years 2002 to 2006 up to 2008. The third update was completed in September 2011, removing year 2002, and adding year 2007. The cohort years of 2003 to

2007 were tracked up to the end of 2010 and include the 2011 June graduates (who were backdated to show as qualified in 2010). Thereafter, Heritage or People Soft pro-vides a more nuanced source of informa-tion on academic standing. These cohorts were tracked exhaustively, as misconcep-tions on what constitutes re- registration can result in a misleading scenario of a high drop out rate. A high level Summary (including June Graduates 2011) is pre-sented in the table below.

T his report is intended to give a snapshot of teaching and learning at UCT in 2010. The theme of this particular report is assessing the

quality of teaching and learning at UCT, an issue that has arisen during Senate discus-sions of previous Teaching and Learning Reports (notably the 2008 and 2009 re-

ports). By its nature, teaching is a transient, and often very private, undertaking. This is unlike research, where outputs tend to be in the public domain, commonly reflect quite directly what it is that has been achieved and how it was undertaken, and show clearly the contribution to knowledge. Teaching activities, on the other hand, are very indirectly manifested through proxies such as student marks and student course evaluations. Because of this, reporting on „teaching and learning‟ in a relatively large, comprehensive institution is a daunting task. Following extensive consultation with Deans and relevant committees, it was de-cided to structure the 2010 report in two main parts. The first part aims to enable readers to gain a quick idea of some of the

challenges and successes in the teaching and learning arena, and the second to provide a much more detailed record in the form of appendices containing comprehensive information on the main teaching and learning related structures at UCT: the faculties, CHED, the IPD, space and infrastructure, the main

teaching and learning committees. It is believed that this approach will pro-vide a comprehensive record for 2010, while remaining a reasonable length. The body of the report draws heavily on a paper entitled “Assessing the Quality of Teaching and Learning at the University of Cape Town”, presented by IPD Director, Judy Favish, at the 2010 conference of the Southern African Association of Institutional Researchers (SAAIR) (see Annexure 1 of the report). This paper was written in response to questions posed by members of Senate regarding how the university evaluates the quality of teaching and learning. The IPD also compiled the underlying quantitative data and provided the high level analysis of this in the annexure entitled

“A high level summary of the quantitative indicators”. (See Annexure 2 of the report). Having reflected on the detailed content of the report, the closing paragraphs debate the issues of whether or not UCT, in its teaching and learning activities, be de-scribed as being „good‟ or of a high quality, and whether or not it matters that there is,

in fact, no simple answer to this question. The Report concludes that it would seem logical to have clearly defined teaching and learning strategies with agreed indicators where these are possible, attendant time-lines and achievement target dates to assist the institution to assess its standing and progress in this regard. Our current inability to do this is con-strued as a risk, even if the nature of this risk is essentially that of possibly missed opportunities and poorly understood (or somewhat opaque) challenges. The 2010 Teaching and Learning Report, including Appendices and a set of quantita-tive data tables, is available on the IPD website. (http://www.uct.ac.za/usr/ipd/IIU/intreports/tlreport/WedTandLrep.pdf)

T E A C H I N G A N D L E A R N I NT E A C H I N G A N D L E A R N I N G R E P O R T : 2 0 1 0G R E P O R T : 2 0 1 0

The MMed students in Health Science need only complete the coursework component in order to practice as a specialist

Doctoral

Faculty Comple-tions

Potential Com-pletions Attrition Total

Com 35% 18% 47% 125

GSB N/A

EBE 39% 26% 35% 186

Health Sci 53% 27% 20% 274

Humani-ties 38% 30% 32% 266

Law 40% 31% 29% 48

Science 50% 25% 25% 361

Masters

Faculty Comple-tions

Potential Com-pletions Attrition Total

Com 68% 4% 28% 484

GSB 86% 2% 12% 952

EBE 60% 8% 32% 1156

Health Sci* 30% 20% 50% 1300

Humani-ties 71% 4% 25% 1347

Law 74% 2% 24% 710

Science 66% 4% 30% 979

VO L UME 4 ISSUE 2 PAGE 3

INTERN: MBASA MGUYE

I N T E R N S H I P E X P E R I E N C EI N T E R N S H I P E X P E R I E N C E

C urrently I am making a contribu-tion to the Rhythm Generation project as my area of social re-sponsibility because I feel I have

something useful to offer some of the youth living on the Cape Flats, and in so doing I hope to make a difference in our society in a small but significant way.

A key focus of the Rhythm Generation is to educate the youth about the existence of traditional music. My involvement in this Project is not just about recording and documenting the research, but also about creating awareness of the traditional music of these artists. I also provide educational workshops; develop dedicated musicians with specialized training and performance opportunities for youth. The Project would like to find ways to make some of the youth in the Cape Flats community gainfully employed, and it is hoped that the activities in the Rhythm Generation project would take many of them out of a poverty-trap in Cape Town, which is known for its high unem-ployment rate. The majority of the poorer communities in Cape Town have limited recreation facilities, if any at all. The uniqueness of the "Cape Town" sound, can be traced to a distinct rhythm, tone and harmony and there is a special

tone in respect of the sound in terms of its quality and origin that has lasted for three generations in Cape Town so far.

It is a Cape sound that was created by the so called "Coloured" dance bands of Cape Town. As described by John Mason (2011): "...in Cape Town there is a specific sound that brings out the ´ghoema´ and the ´banjo´ as an important ingredient of the Cape Town sound that you hear only in Cape Town". I felt that this project has a lot of meaning to me because these traditions are some-thing that I grew up with and it is very important for me and it moulded me into being the person I am today.

The project is very important for the youth, too, as it strives to ex-plore continuous awareness in the quality of the music that is available to them. When thinking back on how our parents and grandparents for so many years in the apartheid days managed to tolerate the injustices brought on them when people due to apartheid were separated in this country, the community depended on rec-reation throughout the year like music to keep them entertained and it gave the community a sense of belonging, an in-come as well as a sport. The music served to give back the dignity to an impoverished community by offering everyone the best possible musical experience at the time. Today, reviving this culture should be a very important part of the youth‟s lives. Today we find that many people are writing about post-apartheid poverty widening and the burdens and brutality of drug abuse. Yet we are not focusing enough on social upliftment. Establishing projects like the Rhythm Generation project is one way of helping to improve the quality of people’s lives in the Cape Flats.

Please donate ANY unused musical instru-

ments to this project so that we may con-

tinue to reach out to our talented youth.

Contact elaine.hendricks@uct.ac.za

S O C I A L R E S P O N S I B I L I TS O C I A L R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y W I T H R H Y T H M Y W I T H R H Y T H M

G E N E R A T I O NG E N E R A T I O N

T he positioning of the department and its service work in the uni-versity attracted me to the in-ternship. It works in co-

ordination with other UCT departments and external stakeholders and services various committees and working groups on academic planning, academic reviews, quality promotion and providing institu-tional information. The internship has been an empower-ing and developmental experience. Within this short period, from May until now, I have been exposed to the work of all the units and gained some practical experience in areas of interest like social responsiveness and quality assurance. Sitting in on meetings of the various committees like the University Social Responsiveness Committee, the Poverty and Inequality Planning Group , the Quality Assurance Working Group, has enabled me to follow current debates, projects and developments in relation to the work of the university on issues of teaching and learning, quality promotion, academic planning, planning and budget-ing and on poverty and inequality. My colleagues in the department have en-sured that I participate and contribute to the significant work of the department

and learn from their work in the sharing sessions during staff meetings. Amongst other experiences, I attended and reported on the 2011 Student Quality Forum, a student project which aims to give students a voice in the quality assurance of their teaching and learning experience. Most of my work

has focused on helping to organise the Academic and PASS reviews- coordinat-ing the briefing sessions and review ses-sions of various departments and I even had a chance to sit in during the Librar-ies review. I count myself as fortunate at being part of a team that is responsible for the nature, demand and significant amount of work carried out in the de-partment. The department and staff have helped to develop skills and acquire knowledge acquisition that is unique and relevant to higher education, specifically those that can not be acquired through tertiary qualification. I was encouraged and al-lowed to enrol in some of the courses offered at the University for Staff Devel-opment, which served to enhance my work efficiency in the department. Developmental opportunities like intern-ships play a significant role in the knowl-edge and skill transfer that enhances employability for graduates especially in view of the high rates of youth unem-ployment in South Africa. In view of this, more of such opportunities should be made available in higher education institutions.

ELAINE HENDRICKS

IPD Website

www.uct.ac.za/services/ip/department/

www.socialresponsiveness.uct.ac.za/

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

Institutional Planning Department Room 229.3

Bremner Building

UCT Lower Campus

Lovers' Walk

Rondebosch

7700

IPD Units and Acronyms:

Institutional Information Unit (IIU) Social Responsiveness Unit (SRU) Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) Academic Planning Unit (APU)

I n 2008, the UCT Institutional Planning Department, the Depart-ment of Student Affairs and the Student Representative Council

entered into an agreement to strengthen student involvement in quality assurance. This was in line with the HEQC‟s „Student Participation in Quality Assur-ance Project‟. The three parties agreed on the objectives and strategies for the project. As part of this initiative, the third Student Quality Forum took place on 13 August 2011. Themed “Promoting Di-versity through Teaching and Learn-ing”. The forum discussed the advantages and disadvantages of making UCT‟s course on Global Citizenship compul-sory for most, if not all, students, and

how to createan enabling environment for students, especially those with dis-abilities. Dr Helen MacDonald of the Depart-ment of Social Anthropology delivered the keynote address, Diversity as a central theme in teaching and learning at UCT. Hailing from New Zealand, she shared her experiences as a lecturer at UCT, noting that she very quickly learned how much of a factor race – her own included – is in South Africa. In turn, guest speaker Claire Kelly, diversity literacy co-ordinator with UCT‟s Intercultural and Diversity Stud-ies group, spoke of the university‟s pilot programme on diversity literacy. And in keeping with its central con-cern, the forum also launched its Stu-dents Quality Assurance Handbook,

aimed to encourage students to con-tribute to the discussion. “Quality assurance is not only now discussed by the academics or the management of the university,” said the SRC‟s Insaaf Isaacs, “but has now also branched over to its student lead-ers, and guidance is sought from fora like these and incorporated into univer-sity policy.” Special guests at the event were stu-dents and staff from the University of Namibia, notably its Centre for Quality Assurance and Management, with whom the IPD had signed a memoran-dum of understanding in 2010. A full report of the 2011 Student Quality Forum is available on request. Contact Mbasa Mguye on 021 650 2615 or email mbasa.mguye@uct.ac.za

S T U D E N T Q U A L I T Y F O RS T U D E N T Q U A L I T Y F O R U M : 2 0 1 1U M : 2 0 1 1

STUDENT QUALITY FORUM INITIATIVE: (Back, from left): Insaaf Isaacs (SRC), Johanna

Aipanda (University of Namibia), Zone Mdledle (IPD), Helena Taapopi (UNAM), Jimmy Na-

mutenya (UNAM) and Jerome September (DSA). Front: Marthin Mutumba (UNAM) Department of

Student Affairs; Aina Kamati (UNAM) and Saima Nghihalwa (UNAM).