Jan Botha, André Müller, Leon Eygelaar, Desmarie Meintjies

Division for Institutional Research and PlanningSTELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY

Changing the face of success byfacing the success of change

Jan Botha, André Müller, Leon Eygelaar, Desmarie Meintjies

Division for Institutional Research and PlanningSTELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY

Changing the face of success byfacing the success of change

Changing the face of success

First years’ pass rate

Graduate throughput

Changing the face of success

Strategic Framework for the turn of the century and beyond

Vision 2012 and Vision 2015

Hope project

NQF, SAQA, HEQC

Changing the face of success

research

role-players in Africa

global citizenship

diversitysustainability

multilingual

Changing the face of success

by facing the success of change

RESEARCH PROBLEM Are we successful at transforming our identity? • Are we changing the face of success? Do we have a broadened understanding of success?• Are we changing for the better?

RESEARCH FOCUS Curriculum transformation as measurement instrument• Both small and significant changes are made to the curriculum every year• Annual yearbook changes are complicated to analyse (due to the number and type)• The most significant curriculum changes happen when new programmes are introduced• More than 90 new programmes have been introduced since 2001

RESEARCH QUESTION To what extent does an analysis of new programmes yield useful answers to the question of curriculum transformation at SU?

Curriculum transformation as a measurement instrument for student success

• Has there been sufficient responsiveness to the changing contexts of the new millennium?

• To what extent are new programmes indicative of curriculum transformation?

• Can we compare the university’s identity in 2001 with its identity in 2010?

HYPOTHESIS• New programmes: one entry point to understand institutional change• National HE and institutional policies: prompt and steer• New qualification types (PGDip, structured M): significantly change identity • UG: limited success i.t.o. diversity (race, nationality) vs. PG shift

• Historic overview of institutional identity

• National instruments

• Three identities of SU:

1. “Athens”2. “Berlin”3. “New York”

The story of Stellenbosch University

• Historic overview of institutional identity

• National instruments

• Three identities of SU:

1. “Athens”2. “Berlin”3. “New York”

The story of Stellenbosch University

New programmes introduced at Stellenbosch University during 2001-2010

FACULTY №

Arts and Social Sciences 18 Natural Sciences 1 Education 2 Economic and Management Sciences 25 Health Sciences 34 Agri-Sciences 4 Law 0 Engineering 3 Theology 1 Military Sciences 4

New programmes introduced in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (18)

PROGRAMME TYPE №

Pre graduate 3 First bachelor 1 Professional bachelor / 4y bachelor - Postgraduate Diploma 1 Honours bachelor 4 Masters – MA 3

– MPhil 4 Doctoral 2

New programmes introduced in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (25)

PROGRAMME TYPE №

Pre graduate - First bachelor 3 Professional bachelor / 4y bachelor - Postgraduate Diploma 6 Honours bachelor 4 Masters – MAcc and MComm 4

– MPhil 6 Doctoral 2

New programmes introduced in the Faculty of Health Sciences (34)

PROGRAMME TYPE №

Pre graduate - First bachelor - Professional bachelor / 4y bachelor 1 Postgraduate Diploma 4 Honours bachelor 4 Masters – MMed 4

– MSc / MedSci 8– MPhil 10

Doctoral 3

Programmes selected for further analysis

1. Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics2. Bachelor of Commerce in Psychology3. Bachelor of Science in Conservation Ecology4. Master of Philosophy in HIV/AIDS Management 5. Master in Development Finance6. Master of Philosophy in Cultural Tourism and Heritage

Studies7. Master of Philosophy in Intercultural Communication8. Master of Philosophy in Sustainable Development9. Master of Philosophy in Visual Arts10. Master of Philosophy in Life Writing

Enrolment and diversity figures for the Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics

EXAMPLE: Bachelor of Engineering in MechatronicsEXAMPLE: Undergraduate programme

Enrolment and diversity figures for the Master of Philosophy in HIV/Aids Management

EXAMPLE: Bachelor of Engineering in MechatronicsEXAMPLE: Structured Master’s programme

Enrolment and diversity figures for the Master in Development Finance

EXAMPLE: Bachelor of Engineering in MechatronicsEXAMPLE: Structured Master’s programme

Survey completed by programme coordinators

EXAMPLE: Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics

Simple survey questions on:

• Programme design• Student recruitment and selection• Staff and infrastructure• Teaching, Learning, assessment• Open question on transformation

EXAMPLE: Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics

Qualitative data for all the programmes

EXAMPLE: Bachelor of Engineering in MechatronicsEXAMPLE: Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics

Qualitative data for all the programmes

EXAMPLE: Bachelor of Engineering in MechatronicsEXAMPLE: Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics

FINDINGS Undergraduate programmes

1. Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics2. Bachelor of Commerce in Psychology3. Bachelor of Science in Conservation Ecology

All three programmes are:

• popular and exceed the estimated enrolment numbers• responsive to stakeholder needs• perpetuating the volksuniversiteit identity• lacking diversity in terms of race and nationality • transformative in terms of teaching and learning methods

FINDINGS Postgraduate programmes

1. Master of Philosophy in HIV/AIDS management2. Master of Development Finance3. Master of Philosophy in Sustainable development4. Master of Philosophy in Intercultural communication

5. MPhil in Life Writing, Visual Art, and Cultural Tourism and Heritage studies

Focusing on the other M’s, they all:

• contribute significantly to diversity (race and nationality)• are responsive to national and institutional directives• can be classified as promoting the “PG school” identity• face challenges in terms of the research supervision workload

All the Health Sciences programmes can be classified as promotingthe SET identity

Summary of FINDINGSThe new programmes introduced since 2001 illustrates that the university has

greatly shifted its identity in terms of academic offering from being an

undergraduate volksuniversiteit to being a SET research focused university.

Also growing, but to a lesser extent, is the University of Stellenbosch’s identity as a

postgraduate school with structured Master’s degrees for emerging first-generation students who are often working professionals.

In terms of teaching and learning, more innovative blended teaching methods are being employed, transforming the way in which the content is taught, in cases where content is not always “new”.

To change the face of success

research

role-players in Africa

global citizenship

diversitysustainability

multilingual

you should face the success of change

Thank you! Dankie!

Enkosi!

DANKIETHANK YOU

ENKOSI KAHKULU

Conclusion1. The introduction of programmes provides one entry point to the

understanding of institutional change

2. National policy contexts, in particular the national mechanisms related to academic qualifications and programmes play a role to prompt curriculum (programme) changes) and to steer changes

3. New qualification types – the PGDip and structured Master’s programmes contribute significantly to a changing identity (face) of SU

4. When two indicators of change (diversity profile and international students) are investigated, it indicate that SU has:

a. limited success at UG level to attract new facesb. reasonable success at PG level

Further topics• Impact of NQF to prompt and steer transformation• Institutional identity theories• Instruments for measuring

curriculum renewal trends