2015 Annual Report

At the end of 2009 the Council approved a Strategic Plan for the University for the period 2010 – 2014. The process of developing the new strategic plan by the Senior Leadership Group started towards the end of 2014 and continued early in 2015. A process of consultation was launched at a workshop of Academic heads of department in early April 2015. This workshop took place against the backdrop of the launch of the #RhodesMustFall movement and the Black Academic Caucus. These movements had raised concerns about the slow pace and limited conception of transformation within the University. The HODs endorsed the need to accelerate the pace, and broaden the scope of transformation. As a result, the Executive decided to request the Council to extend the period of the previous Strategic plan to the end of 2015 to allow for time to revise the plan and consult with key
stakeholders about a proposed new direction for the University. Council acceded to this request. Hence the framework of the 2010-2014 Strategic Plan was used to set the objectives for UCT’s 2015 Annual Performance Plan and members of the Executive. The framework was also used to organise this report on progress with regard to the predetermined objectives approved by Council in order to demonstrate the alignment of these objectives with the Strategic Plan. Reports on the pre-determined objectives pertaining to capital expenditure and finance are contained in the sections of the Report on the Annual Financial Review and in the Report of the Chair of Council. Satisfactory progress has been made in relation to the pre-determined objectives based on an analysis of the evidence, although the Transformation section of the Report highlights ongoing challenges which need
to be addressed. The draft new 2016 to 2019 Strategic Plan has identified accelerating the scope and pace of, transformation as a key driver. The section below contains reports against pre-determined objectives where these were specified, as well as summaries of the other key activities which took place during 2015 to advance the broad goals of the Strategic Plan.