Figure 12: Student intakes and institutional responsiveness The argument can be illustrated further by outlining three different ‘cases’, loosely based upon actual institutions: Table 6: Illustrative examples - student intakes and institutional responsiveness Table 7: Three illustrative examples - student intakes and institutional Institution ‘A’ Institution ‘B’ Institution ‘C’ Close to planned limit to growth Relatively homogeneous student population Highly selective admissions High course load Limited teaching and curriculum innovation Plans to increase black enrolment to 30% over time Graduation in minimum time Total graduation around 70% Challenge: maintain and improve throughput, while Has capped student growth Fairly diverse student population Highly selective admissions Moderate course load Wide range of teaching and curriculum interventions Graduation in minimum time 30-35% graduation around 60-65% to increase this by 10% To meet its goal, needs to ensure similar success rate for black Has experienced a marked shift in student demographics and academic preparedness selective entry requirements High course load Weak teaching and curriculum support Graduation in minimum time Final graduation around 36% Black graduation in minimum time 1-7%; total black graduation around 25% Challenge: improving planning 40%
The ‘town and gown’ settings of Stellenbosch and Potchefstroom, according to informants, create a very different environment from the busy urban settings of UCT and Pretoria, while the relative demographic homogeneity of Stellenbosch and Potchefstroom mark these institutions off, in some respects, from Pretoria, Wits and UCT. The changes here may be more subtle than expected, however: at both Pretoria and Stellenbosch, it appears, there are increasing numbers of white English-speaking students, and English as a medium of instruction is becoming more prevalent. What can be concluded from these, unavoidably sketchy and subjective observations on institutional climate? The object is not to pass judgment, but to highlight the important point that different institutional contexts and realities may have important effects for teaching and learning, including throughput rates and graduate outcomes. For present purposes, the following points stand out: Institutional climate and context may have important impacts on teaching and learning, and hence on throughput rates and student outcomes Institutional throughput rates should be seen in context, and crude comparisons between institutions capture only part of the picture Efforts to improve throughputs need to be context-sensitive Some institutions may require assistance to address the challenges they face; others may benefit from dialogue and engagement, at a strategic and policy level There is a need for more fine-grained institutional research, to better understand institutional climate and its impacts on student access and success. Language Language is, in a number of senses, an important dimension of the institutional climate and culture discussed above. Language is part of the culture and identity of institutions, and a strong factor in students’ choice of university, as well as a means of - or barrier to - communication, and access to knowledge. For increasing numbers of students, English is a second, or even a third or a fourth language. At some campuses, where staff turnover has resulted in the appointment of academics from other African, as well as from central European and other countries, English may be a second language for increasing numbers of staff, too - and accents, and a grasp of the local vernacular, may add to the difficulties of communication. At some ‘Afrikaans’ universities, on the hand, dual- or parallel medium language policies, and increasing numbers of white English-speaking as well as black students, require that Afrikaans-language lecturers teach, or at least communicate, in their
The key implication for ECSA, it is suggested, is that the Council should give serious consideration to formally endorsing the call for a flexible mainstream curriculum, and to establishing a formal process of engagement with government which is aimed at creating the necessary enabling conditions, in particular with respect to the higher education funding and qualifications frameworks. This should not entail prescribing to the universities; but it could usefully include facilitating a dialogue and process of engagement between the universities and with employers and other stakeholders, as well as supporting the move towards a flexible curriculum through monitoring, research, and wider debate; and by treating key curriculum innovations, for example at the Universities of Pretoria, Cape Town and KwaZulu Natal, as national ‘experiments’ which should be monitored and evaluated at a policy and strategic level. It is worth noting, with regard to the above, that the majority of informants indicated that they would welcome an ECSA-facilitated ‘conversation’ about the undergraduate curriculum, with some going so far as to suggest that this should be an ongoing focus of attention. It would also be important in this regard for ECSA to ensure that it engages proactively with the Council on Higher Education and the review of the undergraduate bachelors degree that it is about to undertake. ECSA might also wish to take these processes a step further, by initiating a research project on the undergraduate curriculum, in partnership with the universities and, for example, the HSRC and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Appropriately constituted, this could provide a credible and influential platform from which to review and where necessary to modernise and reform engineering education in South Africa, and a catalyst for action at a systemic level. Along with the debate about curriculum, however, there is also a need for ECSA to engage more critically with the response of individual institutions to the specific throughput and related challenges pertaining to their contexts and their student intakes. This is provided for in the existing provisions for accreditation and programme review, but it is not clear that these aspects of institutional performance are receiving the focused and constructive attention they deserve.
Ms Ronelle Plaatjies Senior Academic Development Professional NMMU 14 June 2011 Mr Sakhile Monose Managing Director National Society of Black Engineers (SA) 20 June 2011 Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala Dean and Vice Dean Faculty of Engineering and the Environment University of Johannesburg Dr Kim Battle Vice Dean Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Johannesburg Prof. Alan Nurick HoD Dept of Mechanical Engineering Science University of Johannesburg Prof. Johan Meyer HoD Dept of Electrical & Electronic Engineering Science University of Johannesburg 21 June 2011 Prof Elsabe Kearsley HoD Civil Engineering University of Pretoria 22 June 2011 Prof BTJ Maharaj HoD Electrical, Electronic & Computer Engineering University of Pretoria Prof Madeleine du Toit HoD Material Science & Metalurgical Engineering University of Pretoria Prof. Ronnie Webber-Youngman HoD Mining Engineering University of Pretoria 23 June 2011 Prof VSS Yadavalli HoD Industrial & Systems Engineering University of Pretoria Prof Kris Adendorff Industrial & Systems Engineering University of Pretoria Prof. Roelf Sandenbergh Dean Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology. University of Pretoria Prof. Josua Meyer HoD Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering; Head of School of Engineering University of Pretoria Prof Philip de Vaal HoD Chemical Engineering University of Pretoria 29 June 2011 Prof. F. Legge HoD Dept of Engineering Science University of Johannesburg 05 July 2011 Prof Mitchell Gohnert HoD Civil & Environmental Engineering University of the Witwatersrand Prof Sunny Iyuke HoD Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering University of the Witwatersrand Prof Frederick Cawood HoD Mining Engineering University of the Witwatersrand 08 July 2011 Prof Edward Moss HoD Mechanical, Industrial & Aeronautical Engineering University of the Witwatersrand 11 July 2011 Prof Ian Jandrell HoD Electrical & Information Engineering University of the Witwatersrand 22 July 2011 Mr Wilco Uys Chairman Minerals Education Trust Fund 01 August 2011 Monique Adams CEO CEO of Career Wise & Administrator, Minerals Education Trust Fund 01 August 2011 Brian O’Connor Senior Principal Engineer Anglo Platinum Limited