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AUDIT NEWS
NEWSLETTER
For the WALTER SISULU UNIVERSITY INSTITUTIONAL AUDIT
WSU
Newsletter Xhosa
WSU
Newsletter English
July
2010
THE WSU HEQC
INSTITUTIONAL AUDIT: 3 – 8 APRIL 2011
In September 2008 and September 2009 the Vice
Chancellor, Professor MM Balintulo, sent out a letter to all members of the
WSU community to inform them about the Audit of Walter Sisulu University by
the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) in April 2011. This Audit is
about assessing the quality of what we do as an institution.
This has two aspects: the adequacy of our
mission and the suitability of our practical arrangements for achieving the
mission. The Audit gives us an important opportunity to take a fresh look
at our mission and to consider the different ways in which we are looking
towards fulfilling it, through our teaching and learning, through the
research that is being undertaken, through community engagement projects and
initiatives where we engage with our communities in the broadest sense as
well as through the policies, procedures, mechanisms and structures we have
in place to support and quality assure our core functions.
Such a process is by its very nature rigorous
and extensive, but at the same time it is exciting. In reflecting on what we
say we want to do and how well we think we are doing, we are able to focus
on what we consider to be our areas of excellence and how these link to and
take forward our strategic goals. At the same time we are able to give
consideration to areas we feel need to be improved so as to better meet our
goals and to draw on external expertise to sharpen this insight.
Since the Audit brings into focus how the
institution as a whole takes forward its mission and pursues its purpose it
is a process that involves all members of the WSU community, from those who
are directly involved in academic activities to those who support these
activities in different ways. The University has been preparing for the
Audit since 2007 and we are well underway.
This is the first in a series of newsletters,
Audit News, about the Audit process. In this edition we discuss the
background to the audit, describe what has been done so far in preparing for
it, note the next steps in the process and provide necessary information on
how members of the WSU community can contribute directly to the process. We
also begin to explore the notion of quality at WSU as it emerges out of our
mission and strategic goals.
BACKGROUND TO THE AUDIT
The Higher Education Act, Act 101 of 1997
assigns the responsibility for quality assurance in higher education in
South Africa to the Council on Higher Education (CHE).
The CHE exercises this authority through its
permanent sub-committee, the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC). The
HEQC has three important responsibilities to perform, these are to:
-
Promote quality assurance in higher
education
-
Accredit programmes of higher education
-
Audit the quality assurance mechanisms of
higher education institutions.
Some faculties at WSU have already been
involved in the HEQC processes around the accreditation of their programmes.
However in the April 2011 Audit, the HEQC will be auditing the university’s
overall quality assurance system. It will be what they call an
Institutional Audit. The main objectives of an Institutional Audit (IA)
is for the HEQC to consider how well institutions are doing in relation to
their mission and strategic goals, what they refer to as an institution’s
“fitness for purpose”, or how well an institution is doing in relation to
its purpose.
It involves considering the institution’s
policies, procedures, mechanisms, practices and resources that are in place
to promote, monitor and assure quality in the core areas of teaching and
learning, research and community engagement.
Most importantly, it is a process that involves
helping institutions to identify what they are doing well and to isolate
important challenges for the future. The HEQC expects institutions to
prepare for the audit in a number of different ways. The most important
task is for the institutions to undertake a process of self - reflection and
prepare a Self Evaluation Report (SER) in terms of the 19 specified
criteria.
These require the institutions to describe
their internal quality assurance systems and to reflect on their strengths
and weaknesses in pursuing their purpose through their core academic
activities. In doing this they are required to provide evidence that
validates the claims that are made. So the Self Evaluation Report (SER) is
key to informing the external panel about the institution and its own
reflections on its “fitness for purpose”.
PREPARING FOR THE AUDIT
During
2008 a number of structures were put in place to manage and complete various
tasks associated with the audit preparations.
PREPARING FOR THE AUDIT
During
2008 a number of structures were put in place to manage and complete various
tasks associated with the audit preparations.
These
structures and their responsibilities are:
-
Vice Chancellor’s Steering Committee (VCSC):
Oversees the entire preparation process.
-
Institutional Audit Project Management Task
Team (IAPMTT): Under the leadership of Deputy Vice Chancellor: Planning,
Quality Assurance and Development the IAPMTT organizes and manages all
the research and communication activities in the preparation process,
including preparation and finalization of our Self Evaluation Report
(SER).
-
Working Groups (WGs): Development of
resource documents on all of the audit criteria for synthesis into the
Self – Evaluation Report.
-
Institutional Audit Project Office: Day to
day management of the process and all audit related activities (see
overleaf for contact details).
During September 2008 the nine WGs commenced
their work around the different audit criteria. Each working group had to
submit a report in February 2010. These reports have been synthesized into a
single report for further consideration by the WGs. A workshop will be held
to discuss the progress that needs to be made and identify any gaps or areas
of improvement that need attention.
At this time the (IA) Project Office is
preparing the database of staff (Academic and Support), students, Council
Members, Staff Unions and all other relevant stakeholders that will be
interviewed to gain further information and insight that is needed for the
SER. On 14 June 2010 a first 117-page draft of the SER was sent to all WSU
stakeholders including staff and students to read and submit their comments
to the Director: Quality Assurance (who is currently running the IA Project
Office) who will then compile it for submission to the specialist SER writer
for his possible inclusion in the draft document. After extensive and
further work by members of the Working Groups, IAPMTT, VCSC and the Project
Office a full draft report will be completed and presented to the university
community for consideration and comment.
It will be very exciting to reach this point.
This is the time when the whole WSU community has an opportunity to
contribute more actively to the process. The best way that members of the
WSU community can contribute is by reading the report (when presented) and
send comments or responses to the IA Project Office, currently run by the
Director: Quality Assurance.
OUR VISION
Walter Sisulu University (WSU) will be a
leading African comprehensive university focusing on innovative educational,
research and community partnership programmes that are responsive to local,
regional, national development priorities, and cognisant of continental and
international imperatives.
OUR MISSION
In pursuit of its vision as a developmental
university, WSU will:
-
Provide an educationally vibrant and
enabling environment conducive to the advancement of quality academic,
moral, cultural and technological learner-centred education for holistic
intellectual empowerment, growth and effective use of information;
-
Provide and maintain the highest possible
standards in innovative learning and teaching, applied, basic and
community-based research and community partnerships in cooperation with
development agencies, the public and private sectors;
-
Provide affordable, appropriate,
career-focused and professional programmes that address rural
development and urban renewal with primary emphasis on science,
technology and development studies;
-
Create a new generation of highly-skilled
graduates capable of understanding and addressing complex societal
challenges, with critical scholarly and entrepreneurial attributes
grounded on morally sound work ethics and responsible leadership.
OUR VALUES
In pursuit of its Mission, WSU commits to the
following values which are an affirmation of the eternal principles which
will inform all dealings of the University:
-
Academic Freedom
-
Quality
-
Access and Success
-
Transformation
-
People Development
-
Caring University
-
Resource Consciousness
QUALITY MANAGEMENT DIRECTORATE (QMD)
INSTITUTIONAL AUDIT PROJECT OFFICE |
