Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo has endorsed the launch of the forthcoming Institutional Audit by the Council on Higher Education (CHE).
In his opening address, at an Institutional Audit Virtual Launch, Nhlapo said in 2010, five years after the merger, CPUT underwent the first Institutional Audit. He said the recommendations from the CHE were incorporated into the Institutional Quality Improvement Plan and quality improvement activities were initiated in crosscutting areas such as governance, transformation, institutional culture and communication, as well as in specific functions such as library provision, research, human resources, security and residences. Nhlapo also acknowledged the Council's support for the institutional audit with the presence of its chairperson Adv Zuko Mapoma and his deputy, Dr Laurine Platzky.
The Institutional Audit Coordinator, Dr Siyanda Makaula outlined the processes that the Institution will undergo in preparing for this audit. Makaula said the “overarching purpose of an institutional audit was to evaluate the coherence and effectiveness of the institution’s internal quality assurance system in enabling student success and improving its core academic functions”.
He also added that the outcomes of the Institutional Audit will provide baseline information for an institutional track record that will form the basis for the implementation of the recently published CHE Quality Assurance Framework.
The Institution will be the main unit of analysis. The CHE will apply a review methodology based on reflexive praxis and peer review as the tools in conducting institutional audits.
The institution will be evaluated in terms of its “fitness of purpose, fitness for purpose, value for money, transformation and student success as a view of quality” – At CPUT, our definition of quality would not be sufficiently extensive if it did not encompass the interface of people (oneness) and technology (smartness).
Nhlapo said: “The main focus of the Institutional Quality Improvement Plan was to encourage integration across the many faculties, units and campuses of CPUT and to concentrate on activities that enhanced the teaching and learning processes, the student experience and student success. This plan was successfully closed out by the CHE on the 5th February 2014,” he continued.
“In the words of the CHE to CPUT: The Institutional Audits Committee, a sub-committee of the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC), was impressed with the thorough way in which all of the recommendations from the audit report were addressed. The HEQC indicated that the progress report was a mature and courageous self-reflection.”
Nhlapo emphasised that the University’s vision has been revised. “We developed the goals for the University and have embedded these firmly in our qualifications and academic project. At that time, we were mindful that we had to choose our goals appropriately. We set out to develop the research framework that sets today’s foundation for our 2030 strategy embodied in “One Smart CPUT”. He added that in the midst of the pandemic the University took part in the CHE’s Doctoral Qualification Review and now the Institution is preparing for the second HEQC’s Institutional Audit.
Reflecting on the function of the institutional audit, Nhlapo said: “In a sense, it takes a snapshot of our academic and strategic activities and through reflexive praxis and peer evaluation, evaluates our actions against the student experience and student success. It helps us to develop along a line of continuous improvement, as long as we are open and honest with declaring our strengths and weaknesses.”
The Vice-Chancellor pledged his full support to the Institutional Audit while ensuring a valid process. He requested staff and students alike to give of their expertise and experiences and provide a robust reflection that will take the University towards achieving the mission set out in Vision 2030.
Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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