THE VOICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP

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Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education

Tuesday, 08 February 2011

CAPE TOWN

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HESAA unified body of public higher education in South Africa

Committed to: WP3, HE Act (1997), and NPHE) (2001) transformation agenda for HE. creating a proactive energetic higher education sector that is committed to

promoting the national development agenda responding to the call to:o Increase access into higher educationo Make higher education more affordable, especially for poor studentso produce more graduates with appropriate high level skills to meet the

needs of a growing economy

Presentation OutlineA STUDENT ACCESS1. Student enrolment trends in the past years2. HESA’s perspective on post-school education system3. HESA’s commitments and initiatives4. Possible models for expanding access5. Articulation arrangements6. HESA’s view on NSFASB STUDENT SUCCESS1. Graduation trends in the past few years2. Drop-out rates in the past few years3. Sector intervention (institutional practices and HESA working group

on Teaching and Learning)4. RecommendationsC STUDENT DEBT MANAGEMENT BY HEISD CONCLUSION

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A. STUDENT ACCESS

Student Enrolment Trends (1996-2006) and to 2009 An increase in the overall student enrolment in both

headcount and FTE enrolments; from 2000 to 2009 the increase was from 588 000 to 837635 (undergraduate 456K to 684K ; postgraduates 88 393 to 128 747)

Trend positive for all racial groups as well as for women. Increased student participation rate from 14% to 16,8%. A shift in enrolments towards the target set in the NPHE

with the desired increases in SET Increases in graduate outputs Student support arrangements in place at most institutions;

foundation programmes as stand alone pre-university year or integrated into the curriculum through extended curricula.

Entry into HE

Head count enrolments in public higher educations: thousands

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Heads 590 599 608 585 588 638 675 718 744 735 741

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Improved Equity in Student Success Rates

Total FTE degree credits as % of total FTE enrolments

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

African 62% 60% 62% 64% 64% 65%

Coloured 67% 65% 70% 68% 69% 68%

Indian 70% 68% 70% 70% 71% 68%

White 78% 76% 80% 77% 78% 77%

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

Growth in Enrolments in Science & Tech and Business and Management.

Head count enrolments in science/technology & business/management: thousands

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Science & technology 134 143 160 171 203 212

Business &management

113 132 139 197 239 223

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

15 May, 2007 88

Increased Participation of Female & Black Students in HE

African + Coloured plus total female students as % of head count enrolments

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

African 53% 55% 56% 58% 61% 61%

Coloured 6% 5% 5% 6% 6% 7%

Female 48% 50% 54% 55% 54% 55%

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

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Growth in Master’s and Doctoral Enrolments

Head count masters & doctoral enrolments: thousands

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

50.0

Masters 23.0 26.6 31.7 39.2 45.3 42.9

Doctors 5.1 5.6 6.4 7.7 9.1 9.8

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

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HESA Commitments

Ensuring that no academically capable students are denied access solely on the basis of financial need.

Contributing to the restructuring of the post school system to increase post school opportunities for learners

Strengthen HESA’s information guide (NiSHE) on entry requirements and study opportunities in further and higher education

Developing a credit accumulation and transfer system to promote:

o mobility within the higher education system; ando articulation between HE and the FET College sector Increasing HE capacity for part-time and lifelong learning.

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Recommendations on improving access

a) Great attention should be paid to improving the performance of basic education

b) Expand and make visible the FET College sector which: Offers opportunities for the 200 000 NSC holders each year

who do not have Bachelor degree passes has a good number of short study programmesb) Expansion of the university sector (with 2 institutions

approved for Northern Cape and Mpumalanga)c) Improve articulation routes between the FETC sector (and

other single-purpose providers) and HE sector, including NCV and Nated courses graduates.

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B. FUNDING AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Trends (1996-2008) Both block and earmarked grants have increased over the period Earmarked grants have increased at a faster rate compared to block grants. NSFAS allocations increased Real state support per FTE student has decreased Since 2008, the DoE and DHET made ad hoc allocations to HEIs for

infrastructure and efficiency purposes: R1 095m (2008/09) ; R1 462m (2009/10); R1 585m (2010/11) Average state subsidy about 43% of total income

As high as 57% in some institutions Student fees average about 28% of income

As much as 38% in some institutions Average income from investment about 7.7%

But insignificant in many institutions

Financial Support for HE

Government funding of public higher education: Rands billions

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

16.0

Block/subsidy grants 4.4 5.3 6.2 7.1 8.6 10.0 11.5

Earmarked grants: 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.9 1.3 1.8 3.3

TOTAL 5.2 6.0 7.1 8.0 9.9 11.8 14.8

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

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Financial Support for HE

Average annual increases in state funding: total and per FTE enrolled student:1996-2006

-4.0%

-2.0%

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

8.0%

10.0%

Nominal Rands 8.5% 5.5%

Real Rands 0.8% -1.9%

Total Per FTE student

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Trends in subsidy levels (block and earmarked grants)

The block grants have not been growing to match the growth in student enrolment.

Increase in budget provision compared to previous year

2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

Block grants 10.6% 13.4% 3.0 %

Earmarked grants

17.3% 15.9% 31.4%

Total 12.1% 13.9% 9.4%

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Student debta) Student debt data from DHET:

b) The debt owed to HEIs by students is huge, and keeps on rising. This debt is unequally distributed among HEIs and is greatest in numerical and proportional terms at the rural HDIs

Year Student Debt (All HEIs)R000

2005 2,570,242

2006 2,474,247

2007 2,659,623

2008 2,784,109

2009 2,869,824

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Sector interventions

Institutional practices (academic support programmes):a) Majority of HEIs make provision for financially needy and

academically deserving students through bursaries, merit scholarships, etc.

b) Most HEIs offer extended curricula programmes to support under-prepared students

c) Most HEIs policies allow for alternative payment

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University programmes and the NSDS IIIa) Universities increasingly produce graduates in the following

study fields: SET; Business and Management; Education; and Other of Humanities and Social Sciencesb) The Universities of Technology are producing large number

of engineering technologists and techniciansc) The sector needs to do much more to improve success

rates in SET (including engineering and health), Education and Social Sciences (including social work).

d) Meeting high level professional and research skills remains a priority

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Recommendationsa) A new and more comprehensive NSFAS is urgnetly

needed.b) A differentiated funding model should be developed for the

higher education sectorc) The FET College sector must be promoted as a viable and

attractive option and one which offers good prospects of employment. (It may also be more affordable option for many).

d) HEIs must be put in a position to offer meaningful support to the many students who enter and fail in HE.

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HESA’s position on the recommendations of the NSFAS Review

The use of a single average FCS value as a basis for calculating institutional allocations needs further investigation and discussion)

Implementation issues such as those relating to the provision of fully subsidised education for poor students and students from working class communities need further discussion

An allocation formula based on need or a proxy for need needs to be revisited.

The priority must be full NSFAS funding of the poor.

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C. STUDENT SUCCESS Academic performance levels are still below the National Plan for Higher

Education benchmarks The targets set through the enrolment planning:

o average sector success rate for all undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the system had to improve from 71% to at least 77% by 2010

o total graduates produced by the system had to increase to 150000 per annum by 2010 Cohort analysis by the DoE: this shows an alarming picture

o excluding distance education institutions, under one-third of intake complete in regulation time;

o one in three graduates within four years; o 7 out of 23 institutions meet the success rate norm of 80% in terms of students who

pass their course;o There are huge disparities between Black and White student performance, with Black

students making up under 25% of all graduates in regulation time (Black students now represent over 75% of enrolled students.).

o 45% of these enrolled students had dropped out of the HE system

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Sector interventionsHESA’s working group on Teaching and Learning established

to: Advise the Board on better ways of improving teaching and

learning outputs across the sector, especially with regard to: o The desirability of a four-year period for the basic

undergraduate basic degree to improve success rates;o Strengthening academic support programmes in all HEIs; and o Implementation of a Teaching and Learning Charter by the

sector

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Recommendationsa) Introducing four-year undergraduate curriculum to improve

success rates;b) Strengthening academic support programmes in all HEIs;c) Improve the identification of students’ educational needs

and ensure curriculum flexibility to meet these needs;d) Develop a sector-wide strategy to improve pass rates and

reduce drop-out rate

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Conclusion

Four priorities1. Make the FET College sector viable and attractive;2. A revamped NSFAS3. A HEI commitment to improved success and throughput

rates, so that poor students do not leave with debt but a qualification

4. A funding dispensation that supports foundation programmes and additional support (possibly in the form of a four year degree curriculum

THANK YOU