Transcript ITS Integration Project Presentation to IEM 19 March 2007

WALTER SISULU UNIVERSITY
Outcomes and impact of the SA-Finland
Co-operation Programme (FINNISH Project)
at
Walter Sisulu University.
20 October 2008
Presenter : Andile Dandala
(Director: Quality Assurance)
Theme of Workshop:
“”The HEQC’s Quality Systems Restructuring Project:
Outcomes and Impact at Institutional Level, and Remaining
Challenges”.
Outline of the Presentation:
1. Introduction.
2. Outcomes of the FINNISH Project activities.
3. Sharing a few pictures and comments from
participants.
4. Impact of FINNISH Project Activities.
5. Challenges for the development of QMS at WSU.
6. Conclusion.
1. Introduction
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QMD at WSU was established again on 3 January
2008 when the DQA was appointed.
DQA busy recruiting the QMD staff during 2008.
Finnish Project was far behind at the time of the
appointment of the DQA.
R242 000 almost unused during 2006 and 2007 (hence
the need to use it by March 2008 or refund it).
Following the first report April 2008 the remaining
R205 000.
o
R98 000 & R107 000 paid into the WSU account
2. Outcomes of the Finnish Project
Activities:
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Workshop held between 25 February & 18 March 2008
covered :
o Attended by:
 FBML (Faculty of Business Management & Law);
 FED (Faculty of Education);
 FSET (Faculty of Science, Engineering &
Technology);
 FHS (Faculty of Health Sciences).
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Topics Covered included:
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Explanation of WSU mission statement
Programme accredidation and Institutional Audit
preparations
Institutional Planning Documentation
Documents shared & discussed included:
 IOP (approved by Minister);
 ISP (Approved by Council);
 Vision, Mission, Goals & Values;
 HEQC Institutional Audit Manual.
•
Areas covered in IOP & ISP
o Vision, Mission, Values, Goals, Objectives and
Strategies;
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Recapitalization funding;
Importance of Mission Statement in programme
design and in development of Department’s /
Schools’ Mission Statements.
 Testing all existing programs for mission
compliance.

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Curriculum Design for Development of new
post merger PQM
Areas covered in IA 2008 Manual
o Preparation of SER and composition of Working
Groups to cover the 19 Audit Criteria.
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Organisational aspects of the Audit Visit by HEQC
Delegates.
Role of Colleagues – Experienced Colleagues from
Sister Institutions who have been audited or who
were about to be audited and who have served on
ACCREDITATION and AUDIT panels of the HEQC
were INVITED to address the HEQC IA2011
preparation.
o
The following meetings were held to prepare for IA
2011:

19 June 2008 – Vice Chancellor’s Steering
Committee (VCSC)

25 July 2008 – VCSC

9 September 2008 – Project Management
Task Team (PMTT)

Working Groups to compile the SER based on
the 19 criteria are currently in their formative
stage
3. Sharing a Few Pictures on the
Finnish Project Workshops:
Faculty of Business, Management & Law (Butterworth)
Faculty of Education (Mthatha)
Faculty of Business, Management & Law
(Queenstown)
Faculty of Science, Engineering & Technology
(Mthatha)
School of Information Technology (All Campuses)
Faculty of Business, Management & Law (Buffalo
City)
Faculty of Health Sciences (Mthatha)
The Executive Dean was in attendance
Faculty of Business, Management & Law Mthatha
The Acting Dean was in attendance
4. Impact of the Finnish Project
at WSU
• Comments from participants included:
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“Queenstown felt sidelined until QMD came”.
“First time IOP & ISP are explained and their role
academic activities”.
“Emphasis of importance of Mission Statement is
really appreciated”.
“Visit and exposure to knowledgeable colleagues
from sister institution - informative & long overdue”.
“Documents shared were not known by participants
until the Finnish workshop”.
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QMD became known on all campuses and at levels of
academics in each delivery site within 2 months of the
appointment of the DQA.
Chard copies of IOP, ISP, Mission Statement, Values and IA
Manual (Sept) 2007 were made available through the project
and this was appreciated.
5.
Challenges for the Development
of the QMS at WSU
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Finnish Project Workshops for Administrative &
Support Service Departments were not well attended.
•
No workshops for Senior and Executive Management
have been held to date (20 October 2008).
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Workshops of Working Groups and the Project
Management Task Team (PMTT) for the HEQC 2011
Institutional Audit need to be arranged (September –
March 2011).
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Establishment of an office to run the IA 2011.
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External Project Manager vs Institutional Deployment.
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Scattered Campuses and Delivery Sites.
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Moving documents a logistics nightmare.
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QMD to oversee the IA activities from a scattered
management setup.
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No Quality Assurance Manager (QAM) & Quality
Assurance Officer’s (QAO’s) for Administrative &
Support Services.
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Space challenges in Mthatha for QMD and 2011 IA
Offices.
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Which campus to prepare for pre-audit visit.
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More staff to be appointed
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In the IA Prep Office
In the QMD
6. Conclusion
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Thank you to the Finland Government for their
commitment to improve the Quality of HE provision in
South Africa.
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Thank you to the SA Government for establishing the
numerous bilateral agreements like the Finland-SA Cooperation Agreement.
• Thanks to the CHE, HEQC and the DoE for sharing the
resources with us especially the complicated merged
poor institutions like WSU.
• Thanks for sharing this platform to share the outcomes,
impact and challenges of the Finnish Project.
• I hope there will be follow-up activities as the road to
success is long and thorny for WSU.
I THANK YOU!!!