North-West University

Over the past six years, the NWU’s student complement has grown from just over 38 000 to almost 55 800, representing growth of almost 31%. This sizeable increasein student numbers has inspired the university to explore new ways of thinking and working so that we can achieve even better results than before by working smarter rather than harder. The results achieved in 2010 confirm that the NWU is indeed thinking and working smarter. Even though we had the highest number of students ever, the undergraduate pass rate rose yet again and so did the graduation rate andthe total number of degrees and diplomas awarded. In 2010, a total of 83,5% of our undergraduate students passed their courses, compared to only 78,8% in 2005. There has also been a striking improvement in throughput (the graduation rate), rising from just 20% six years ago to 27% in 2010. In an important boost for the economy, which is suffering severe skills shortages, the NWU conferred 15 083 degrees in 2010 – almost double the number in 2005. Improvements were also achieved in the other areas of the university’s core business, meaning research and implementation of expertise, both commercially and for communities. In research, the university and its staff did extremely well. We ended the year with 117 researchers with ratings from the National Research Foundation (NRF), compared to 85 in 2005, and produced a total of 1 318 research outputs, against 865 in 2005. 

The theme of the 2009 Annual Report, Excellence through values and vision, was inspired by the idea that while the NWU is based on solid values, it has the vision to achieve excellence. Having developed from a merged institution into one of the leading universities in the country, the NWU is based on sound principles, lasting stability and goodgovernance. From this foundation, we aspire to realise our vision of multi-faceted excellence across our core business. The NWU strives to develop well-rounded students able to contribute towards society, the country and the world. With their feet firmlyon the ground and their eyes focused on future possibilities, they embrace new challenges. 

The theme of our 2008 annual report is inspired by our pay-off line, Innovation through diversity. These characteristics run across all our activities and operations, from our academic offerings to the research we conduct, to our managementmodel, campus structure, student body, community engagement and sports achievements. "Since the merger, the NWU has always considered the unique diversity of the NWUcommunity as an asset instead of a drawback. I believe that, if managed carefully, diversity contributes towards synergy – in other words it allows the NWU tobe more than the sum of its parts. Over the years, I have often witnessed how the combination of the unique talents, expertise and qualities of our diverse community lead to fresh, innovative ideas."

The theme for our 2007 he theme for our 2007 Annual Report, “ nnual Report, “Driven to be the best o be the best” is informed by our drive to nformed by our drive to be the best in our activities e the best in our activities and operations, including teaching-learning, research teaching-learning, research and the implementation and the implementation of expertise. This focus is on expertise. This focus is also reflected in our s also reflected in our commitment to commitment to sound management management and governance best governance bestpractice practice. The 2007 Annual Report portrays our achievements during our achievements during 2007, underlining the fact that we are positioning that we are positioning ourselves a leading university. Furthermore, this was acknowledged when when we were awarded the 2007 PricewaterhouseCoopers Higher Education Excellence Award for Corporate Governance.

Building on the stability achieved in the first two years after the merger, the NWU entered 2006 on a solid footing. Having established itself in the marketplace as a vibrant, innovative and entrepreneurial university, the NWU attracted record student enrolments and, to avoid overtaxing its existing capacity, had to set limits for first-year intakes. The total student headcount for the year came to 38 736, an increase of 0,4 percent compared to the previous year. Healthy increases were recorded for research output and student throughput rates, as well as in the NWU’s ability to generate ‘third-stream income’, meaning income from sources other than subsidy funding and student fees. More than a quarter of the university’s R1,2 billion budget for 2006 came from other sources, including patents and inventions developed by the NWU. With the basics for a sustainable future in place, the NWU turned its attention towards implementing its strategy for 2006 to 2008 and beyond, as captured by the Institutional Plan (IP). The IP was prepared after extensive consultation with university stakeholders and submitted to the Department of Education in May 2006. It contains clear strategic objectives and action plans, complete with targets, for achieving the NWU’s chosen strategy. Essentially, this strategy aims to move the university from being tuitionbased with focused research towards becoming an effective, transformed and balanced tuition and research university.  While taking the first steps in this strategic direction in 2006, the NWU reached another important milestone: the implementation of the NWU Statute. Meeting the deadline set by the Minister of Education for complying with the Statute, 8 August 2006, the ..