Faculty unpacks the ins and outs of new programme development and accreditation
- 16 minutes ago
- 2 min read
by Gerrit Bester
The academic project at the TUT Faculty of Arts & Design maintains momentum with the latest Spotlight on Teaching & Learning session, New Programme Development & Accreditation, on 9 March.
During the event, focusing on moving new qualifications from concept to approval, the facilitators, Dr Herman Botes (Acting Assistant Dean of Teaching and Learning) and Dr Priscilla Tshisikhawe Nesamvuni (Acting Director of Curriculum Development and Support), explained the minimum requirements, key documents, common pitfalls and opportunities of the processes of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). This was coupled by an open Q&A session to support development teams.
The Faculty is currently recurriculating its programmes and the BA in Integrated Communication Design is the first to receive CHE accreditation with conditions, which are addressed and awaiting CHE outcome.
Drs Botes and Nesamvuni began their presentation by outlining the three "gates" that a new qualification must clear before it can be implemented. These are:
* Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) approval for funding and inclusion on the Ministerial Programme Qualification Mix (PQM);
* CHE accreditation, which confirms that the programme meets minimum quality standards; and
* SAQA registration on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
These gates are preceded by conceptualising and developing a business case for the qualification and securing internal approvals.
They clarified what the CHE and the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) evaluate specifically, including graduate outcomes, employability and the essentials of curriculum design, as well as the necessity of DHET and PQM clearance.
Drs Botes and Nesamvuni stressed that the guiding principle is to develop the evidence pack (including the needs analysis) during the design process, rather than as an afterthought at the end.
The session also emphasised the importance of establishing criteria for evaluating the value of new programmes and ensuring that the right students are admitted.
This includes ensuring that the programme is intellectually challenging, that staff are suitably qualified, that the programme has a credible educational strategy and suitable infrastructure to deliver it and that the views of students are taken into account when determining additional academic support.
Drs Botes and Nesamvuni furthermore said that many applications fall short of the assessment criteria, which are integral to teaching and learning. One common pitfall is when the purpose of the programme submission, the exit-level outcomes and the assessment do not align.
The final criterion cover Work-Integrated Learning (WIL). The importance of communicating with employers and mentors was emphasised, as was the need to record student progress.
It was highlighted that the process of new programme development and accreditation is a team effort involving everyone in a department.
Although it was underlined that submissions should prominently feature and explain the TUT Institutional Strategic Plan (ISP) concepts of entrepreneurship and related terms such as 'entrepreneurial' and 'entrepreneuring,' a subsequent Q&A session is suggested where the meaning of these narratives for creative disciplines will be explored.
A follow-up conversation on this topic is planned.
