The University of South Africa

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DEVELOPING A NEW ACADEMIC ORGANISATIONAL
STRUCTURE IN THE NEW COMPREHENSIVE UNISA

• DoE / HEQC Workshop
• 18 September 2005
• Rosalie Finlayson Chris Swanepoel

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The sensitive and intelligent pooling of the
rich reservoirs of resources which come together
when institutions merge, could distinctively
contribute to a successful Comprehensive.

• Professor Chris Swanepoel
• Convenor Priority Task Team (Alignment of VUDEC
  UNISA programmes for 2004)

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Structure of the presentation

• Introduction Pre-Merger Phase
• Governance Managerial Characteristics
• Faculty vs College
• The Concept College
• Comprehensive College Parameters
• Academic Structures
• Support Structures
• Internal Imperatives

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Pre-Merger Phase Former Minister Asmal

• Restructuring process embodied in Education White
  Paper 3 A Programme for the Transformation of
  Higher Education (1997)
• 4 Comprehensive Institutions, 3 of which would
  be established through the merger of a technikon
  and a university and 1 through the redevelopment
  and refocusing of an existing university
• National Working Groups proposals
  Transformation and Restructuring A New
  Institutional Landscape for Higher Education
  published in the Government Gazette in June 2002
  (No. 23549)

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Pre-Merger Phase

• The merger of former TSA, UNISA and the distance
  education arm of Vista (VUDEC) into a single
  dedicated distance education institution (SDDEI)
• Joint Declaration Chairpersons of 3 Councils
  (July 2003) take the best from the existing
  institutions and focus on the future needs of
  South Africa and its students
• MoA Interim Council, VCF, MIF, Joint Merger
  Office, Priority Task Teams Academic, Finance,
  Learner Support etc

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• Governance and managerial characteristics
• Single Council
• Single Senate
• Unitary Management, with portfolios straddling
  technikon and university business
• Executive Deans of comprehensive Colleges,
  each straddling cognate former technikon and
  university faculties

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Structural Differences
Business plan including Academic plan 2015
Agenda for Transformation
Managed by
Sub-Facs, Prog Groups, Depts (Institutes, Centres)
Schools, Depts, Institutes Centres
Academic Structures
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Programme Mix

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• The Concept College within the Context of a
  Comprehensive Institution
• Institutional characteristics
• Single
• Dedicated distance education
• Open distance learning

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Comprehensive College Parameters

• Some definitions
• An independent institution of higher learning
  offering a course of general studies and usually
  preprofessional training leading to a bachelors
  degree
• A part of a university offering a specialised
  group of courses
• An institution offering instruction, usually in
  a professional, vocational, or technical field
  teachers - business - army war - barber-
• Collegiate of a university composed of
  several autonomous colleges marked by power or
  authority vested equally in each of a number of
  colleges
• Source Websters 3rd New International
  Dictionary of the English Language (1993 445).

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The College concept

• Colleges create scope/space for a structure that
  brings together both Technikon- and
  University-type programmes thus promoting the
  formation of comprehensive academic offerings
  across all fields of study
• The sheer size and complexity of the New
  Institution would have required 10 or more
  Faculties which may have been difficult to manage
  in the more decentralised approach proposed for
  the New Institution
• In a College structure it was possible to group
  old Faculties and fields of study into a logical
  cognate grouping within a College and create
  manageable structures that enabled focused
  leadership and management to be applied

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Example College

• Smallest College College of Agriculture
  Environmental Science (CAES) brings together
• Former Vista Univ D E Campus (VUDEC)
• Former TSA
• Former UNISA
• Northwest University (Potch Campus contract)
• Configurations offered through distance
  education first for HE in SA

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HFS -household food security ITKS indigeous
technological knowledge studies
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Comprehensive College Parameters

• Management
• Each College is managed by an Executive Dean.
  S/he is a member of the Extended Management of
  the Institution, and is required to promote the
• core values
• strategic goals, including fiscal discipline
• and management philosophy of the Institution as
  open and distance learning institution,
  representing both technikon and university
  sectors and offering programmes from both

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Comprehensive College Parameters

• Generic Responsibilities of Executive Dean
  include
• integration of programmes
• strategic alignment with market and environment,
  nationally internationally
• resource management
• products delivery - academic programme planning,
  marketing and communication
• student management
• contextual relations
• change and technology

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Comprehensive College Parameters

• Executive Dean drives the vision, mission and
  business plan of the College and reports annually
  according to the performance management
  requirements for senior managers
• Management of the learning programmes of the
  College are twofold
• running the current programmes from both the
  technikon and university sectors (until 2006 and
  for pipeline students until 2008)
• engaging in the task to integrate/merge
  programmes from both sectors, where
  feasible/possible/necessary - for commencement in
  2006 or as soon as possible thereafter

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COLLEGE OF ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
Office of the Executive Dean
INM
School of Accounting Sciences
School of Economic Sciences

• BMR
• CCC
• BBS

School of Management Sciences
Support Staff
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School of Accounting Sciences
HEAD Professional Qualifications
Department of Management Accounting
Department of Taxation
Department of Financial Accounting
Department of Auditing
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Comprehensive College Parameters

• Tasks
• Each College offers fully integrated academic
  programmes based on the HEQF/SAQA framework.
  Programmes include certificate programmes,
  diplomas, degrees (under- postgraduate) in
  combinations that will maximize government
  subsidy as well as non-subsidy income (e.g. Short
  Learning Programmes)
• Each College maximizes its research output
  community participation i.t.o. policy in
  collaboration with central support facilities
  managerial structures initiatives

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Comprehensive College Parameters

• Tasks
• Each College is establishing its learner support
  structures and mechanisms in close collaboration
  with the support structures and facilities from
  the merging institutions and central managerial
  initiatives
• Each College will have an administrative support
  base including functions such as PAs,
  administrative officer/s, an HR, a Marketing and
  Financial Officer, and a Research Administrator

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VP Student Affairs Alumni
Registrar Academic
PRO VICE-CHANCELLOR
VICE-PRINCIPAL ACADEMIC RESEARCH
VP Learner Support
Personal Assistant
VP Strategy P P
Executive Director Library Services
Executive Director Academic Planning
PA
Executive Director Research
PA
Director Research Dev Admin
PA
Secretary
Director Quality Assurance Accreditation
Director Short Learning Programmes
Learnerships
3 Officers 1 Admin
Secretary
2 Asst Research Officers
Secretary
2 Admin Assistants
CAES Executive Dean, Deputy Dean, Director of
Schools Heads of Department
CEMS Executive Dean Deputy Executive
Deans, Directors of School Heads of Department
CHS Executive Dean Deputy Executive
Dean Directors of School Chairs of Department
CLaw Executive Dean Deputy Executive
Dean Directors of School Heads of Department
CSET Executive Dean Deputy Executive
Dean Directors of School Heads of Department
SBL Executive Director Head of Programmes
CARS Director Heads of units
ISTE Director
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE Position UNISA as a
leading provider of quality distance education
programmes through an academic product range that
expands on its comprehensive character.
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PQM

• Rethink new institutions academic offerings to
• benefit from the pooling of offerings and
  resources
• align, consolidate and integrate programmes which
  may overlap, are duplicated and/or
• differentiate and diversify between technikon and
  university type programmes
• plan, develop start offering new programmes/
  qualifications
• ensure most appropriate academic product range

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Project Teams

• Comprehensive within the context of the College
• Academic process, procedures quality assurance
• Africanisation
• Curriculum External Liaison (Credits, course
  levels, funding groups, tuition models,
  registration (SAQA/NQF), accreditation
  (HEQC/IJC))
• Subsidisation of learning programmes
  (DoE/PQM/HEMIS), small disciplines
  cross-subsidisation
• Courseware Production (Academic programmes review
  cycle, scheduling of study material prescribed
  books)
• Defining/identifying active student access,
  admission, through-put pass rate
• Qualifications Alignment Review Panel

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Academic Structure
1 955

• 5 Colleges
• Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
• Economic and Management Sciences
• Human Sciences
• Law
• Science, Engineering and Technology
• SBL
• Graduate School of Business Leadership
• Bureaux, Centres and Other
• Bureaux Market Research
• Centre Business Management

101 966
62 399
28 043
13 717
Non-degree purposes 16 145
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A Distance Learning University

• Teaching and learning are separated in terms of
  time, place and pace
• Learning materials are designed by teams and are
  primarily print-based
• A variety of learner support mechanisms are used
  to facilitate learning

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Mega-university
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Qualifications

• Both vocational/professional and university type.
• From certificate programmes up to doctoral
  studies
• Housed in the 5 colleges
• College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
• College of Economic and Management Sciences
• College of Human Sciences
• College of Law
• College of Science, Engineering and Technology

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University of South Africa

• Two main campuses
• Tshwane/Pretoria Campus
• Florida Campus
• Five Hubs
• Coastal Hub
• Gauteng Hub
• KwaZuluNatal Hub
• Midlands Hub
• North Eastern Hub

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College of Agriculture Environmental Sciences

• School of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• School of Environmental Sciences

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College of Economic and Management Sciences

• School of Management Sciences
• School of Accounting Sciences
• School of Economic Sciences

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College of Human Sciences

• School of Arts and Humanities
• School of Social Sciences
• School of Education
• School of Languages and Literary Studies
• School of Religion and Theology

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College of Law

• School of Law
• School of Criminal Justice

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College of Science, Engineering and Technology

• School of Computing
• School of Science
• School of Engineering

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Course Design and Development

• Programmes are designed using a team approach
• Teams consist of various specialists
• Teams are flexible and are constituted according
  to specific course design needs

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Course delivery

• Innovative delivery systems (eg interactive
  videoconferencing and Online delivery)
• Student support
• Learning centres
• Tutors
• Contact
• Counseling

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Distance Learning Delivery Systems

• Print based materials
• Tutors
• Technology support
• Tele-conferencing
• Video-conferencing
• On-Line Learning

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Learner Support Structure

• Production of Study Materials
• Dispatch of Materials
• On-Line facility
• Library
• Examinations

1 007 201 340 pages per year (over a billion
pages)
133 000 students
Mail 2.5 million items per year
600 Examination centres worldwide
2,4 million items
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The Internal Imperatives

• 2015 VALUES Integrity, Social Justice
  Fairness, Excellence
• Vision The African university in service of
  humanity
• Focus on protection of our assets as a
  comprehensive
• Take advantage of opportunities
• optimise future opportunities
• dont miss out on these opportunties
• Strategic flexibility
• Sustainability - plan, develop, integrate and
  implement!
• GAPS OPPORTUNITIES

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Quote from Vice-Chancellor, Prof N B Pityana

• We have understood the histories and cultures of
  our different entities, out of which we seek to
  mould new and preferably different cultures. We
  have had to contend with people and their
  loyalties, their vested interests. We are
  engaging them about the shaping of a new
  institution, the sacrificing it might entail, and
  the challenges it poses for all of us, and the
  excitement of being part of something new. In
  fact, the new University of South Africa is
  history in the making.

30 March 2005
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• Dankie!Ke a leboga!Ke a leboha!Ndza
  khensa!Thank you!Enkosi!Ngiyabonga!Ndi a
  livhuha!