2005 Annual Report

The year under review began with the Council’s decision to submit a self-review report to the state’s Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC) as preparation for the Institutional Audit of UCT to be undertaken by the HEQC. The year ended with receipt of the HEQC’s report on the quality assurance mechanisms in place at UCT. It is thus appropriate to begin a review of the year with some reflections on
the HEQC audit, and appropriate, too, that the reports that follow this, from the Vice-Chancellor and others, pick up this theme.

The HEQC report is now in the public domain. Its commendations reflect the university’s strengths: a good teaching record, an impressive (by South African standards) graduation rate, rigour in assessment practices, and a strong record in research. Perhaps the most important aspect of the recommendations that the HEQC has now made is that there were no surprises; the areas marked out for improvement were consistent with those that we had identified in our self-review report. This, however, is no reason for complacency. We now have to address
those areas effectively. As this report is being prepared for publication, the Senate is finalising the self-improvement plan that we must submit to the HEQC. What, then, are the main areas for improvement?

First, though our undergraduate and postgraduate throughput rates (the  proportions of entering classes who leave with a qualification) are the highest in South Africa, they are not good, and they remain racially skewed with rates for whites significantly better than for Africans. This is a major challenge for UCT.
There is no simple solution to this serious problem, and change will not be easily achieved.

Secondly, while we rightfully take pride in UCT’s research record, which is reported on more fully below, we have some way to go to realise our vision of being research-led. This is critical both to the quality of the teaching we provide - the excitement of research must be tangible in the classroom - and to South
Africa, if we are to play our role in keeping the country competitive.

Thirdly, the HEQC has identified, correctly, key transformation challenges. Some of these are related directly and indirectly to the challenges of improving the throughput rate and assuring that the graduating class reflects the diversity of the entering cohort. Others relate to the research endeavour. Put succinctly, the transformation challenges relate to institutional climate, to diversity among staff (we have a long way to go to meet our modest employment equity targets), and to diversity among the student body.

This is not to say that the glass is half-empty; it is at least half-full. Anyone present at one of the nine year-end graduation ceremonies in 2005, at which record numbers of students qualified, will be able to testify to the diversity of the graduating class, to the range and relevance and numbers and diversity of
background of the record number of PhD degrees awarded, and to the exuberance everywhere evident.