Report on the UCT Knowledge Co-op pilot for the Steering Committee

This report is structured around the objectives of the original Project Charter for the "cience shop/shopfront pilot", listed in Section 1. After providing evidence from project records and from an evaluative study into the work of the Co-op, the report makes an assessment of the facility. It finds that the UCT Knowledge Co-op has met most deliverables and objectives set out at its start. The facility is now at a critical juncture at the end of its pilot phase and the funding for this phase. The report considers actions towards and options for sustainability of the Co-op and raises issues to be considered for the way forward

Self-efficacy enhanced in a cross-cultural context through an initiative in under-resourced schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

This paper discusses the Khanyisa Programme, an initiative in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where learners from under-resourced schools are supported by teachers and high achievers in Grade 11 and 12 from a previously advantaged state school under apartheid. A qualitative, evaluative study was undertaken to identify key elements in the ongoing success of the programme and collect participant suggestions for improvement. The findings, discussed within the framework of self-efficacy theory, identified enormous gains by Khanyisa learners, leading to vastly improved career prospects

A new contract between higher education and society

This article seeks to explain some of the causes of the disjuncture between the policy goals related to the role of higher education in social and economic development on the one hand, and the practices of higher education institutions on the other hand. This will be done by suggesting that the lack of conceptual clarity regarding the meaning of ";responsiveness"; contributes to the relative marginalisation of the social dimensions of ";responsiveness";. The absence of appropriate coordinating structures at regional and local level for facilitating an integrated approach to the implementation of the array of government social policies makes it difficult to achieve synergy between the programmes offered at higher education institutions and the development needs of society. Some policy gaps, impacting on the seriousness with which higher education institutions views their social responsibilities, are identified. The manner in which the various imperatives of the national plan appear to have been prioritized and addressed by the department has reinforced the relative marginalisation of the developmental role of higher education. The lack of capacity in many higher education institutions to drive comprehensive transformation initiatives is also highlighted. (South African Journal of Higher Education: 2003 17 (1): 24-30

Equity in changing patterns of enrolment, in learner retentionand success at the Cape Technikon1

This article will show that whilst there has been much progress in opening up access for black students to higher education, this has not involved equity of opportunity for black students to enrol for programmes that will enhance employment opportunities and upward social mobility. In addition, opening up access has not always been accompanied by strategies to provide adequate and appropriate forms of support for all students. The article is divided into three sections: The first analyses the extent to which equity of access has been achieved within the Cape Technikon. The second describes an investigation into factors impacting on learner performance, which was undertaken by the Cape Technikon during 2001. The third sets out the key findings of this investigation. This article illustrates that many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have adopted new sets of core values, which they believe should underpin the philosophy and activities of their institutions. However, changing the ethos of the institutions in line with the newly adopted core values in a way that they impact fundamentally on the curriculum and the scholarship of the institution clearly remains a basic challenge. This article highlights the need to address the kind of knowledge and skills that staff need in order to design and deliver transformed curricula whilst designing and implementing comprehensive integrated learner-centred support strategies to ensure learner success and retention. South African Journal of Higher Education Vol. 19 (2) 2006: pp.274-29

Institutional Audits: A comparison of the experiences of three South African Universities.

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From study to work: methodological challenges of a graduate destination survey in the Western Cape, South Africa

Current literature proposes several strategies for improving response rates to student evaluation surveys. Graduate destination surveys pose the difficulty of tracing graduates years later when their contact details may have changed. This article discusses the methodology of one such a survey to maximise response rates. Compiling a sample frame with reliable contact details was foremost important, but may require using additional sources of information other than university records. In hindsight, graduates should have been contacted prior to introduce the survey and mention its importance, while email and postal reminders appeared to have a limited effect on non-respondents. Due to varying response rates between participating universities, online responses were augmented with a call centre administering the survey telephonically to nonrespondents. Although overall differences between online and telephonic responses appeared to be small, certain question items may need to be treated with caution when conducting telephonic surveys. The article concludes by highlighting some of the benefits of the Western Cape graduate destination survey.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/caeh20hb201