30 September 2016

NWU Council Newsletter

To bring you up to speed with everything that is discussed and decided during the latest council meeting that took place on 22 September 2016.

NWU revised enrolment plan

Council approved the revised enrolment plan via round-robin on 8 September 2016. The enrolment plan was accepted with majority approval and subsequently submitted to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).

New Council member elected by support staff

Mr FJ (Frans) du Preez resigned from Council on 21 June 2016. The necessary nomination and election processes were followed and Mr AF (Des) Ayob was duly elected as member for a three-year term, from 13 September 2016 to 19 September 2019.

Council member in the Institutional Forum

With the expiration of Rev SA Musa's term on Council on 21 June 2016, a vacancy existed in terms of par 24(1)(a) of the Statute for a Council member in the Institutional Forum.
Council nominated Rev David Dinkebogile to serve as Council member on the Institutional Forum, on the basis that the Vaal Triangle Campus must nominate another candidate to fill the vacancy left by him as member of the Vaal Triangle Campus on the forum.

HEQC: Final NWU institutional audit closure

Council received and noted a letter from the Council on Higher Education. The Higher Education Qualification Committee (HEQC) approved the closure of the institutional audit of the NWU at its meeting of 7 July 2016. The HEQC expressed its appreciation with the seriousness with which the university approached the task of addressing the recommendations arising from the audit report, and its willingness to engage in a long and demanding process of transformation.

The HEQC commended the university for the work it had already undertaken to forge an identity as a single institution, and wished to encourage it in its efforts to create a positive institutional climate and to continue to create synergy among the activities taking place on its three campuses.

One-person commission to investigate events at Mafikeng Campus

On 11 March 2016 Council resolved to mandate the Executive Committee of Council (Exco) to appoint a one-person commission to investigate the events at the NWU, focusing on the Mafikeng Campus, with the aim of properly recording the events and providing a guide for the way forward.

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Revision of the NWU Statute

Council mandated the Exco on 22 June 2016 to appoint a refinement committee consisting of legal experts, to provide a final text for consideration by all relevant stakeholder groups.

The Refinement Committee concluded the finalisation of the text on 30 August, after which a consultative phase, as approved by the Exco of Council on 25 August, commenced.

Various structures were invited to provide input into the revised draft of the statute for the consideration of Council.

Council resolved to approve the revised Statute in principle to allow the institutional registrar to begin the process of engagement and consultation with the DHET in terms of initial feedback from the Department on the Statute that could be taken into account in the finalisation. The Statute would therefore not yet be submitted for approval to the Department, and consideration would be given to the input provided by Council members at the meeting.

Click here for a more detailed report.

Ad Hoc Council on Restructuring

The convenor of the committee, Mr Flip Buys, indicated that the process was still in progress, and that the Ad Hoc Council Committee on Restructuring would engage with Council's Exco with finalised recommendations. One of the most important recommendations was that all Council committees were to consider the restructuring as it pertained to their areas of expertise and report on this to Council in November.

A number of issues related to the restructuring had been discussed, i.e. the impact of restructuring on our core business and staff members and the risks associated with the restructuring.

A full report will be provided to Council through its Exco.

Mandate to management to consult with stakeholders on Minister's announcement

Institutional management presented to Council a proposed process according to which the university will handle the issue of fees in light of the Minister's statement on 19 September.

Council accepted the proposal and mandated the institutional management to engage in a transparent consultation process with students in line with the Minister's recommendation of not more than an 8% fee increment for 2017 as per the statement, as well as the recommendations of Universities South Africa. The mandate also included that management should list unintended consequences or risks as part of the 2017 budget report.

Management was also mandated to engage with the DHET to clarify the funding declared by the department in the ministerial statement. Also of importance is that a process will need to commence to collect the necessary information to determine which students will be funded by the DHET in line with the mentioned statement and in consultation with the DHET.

A final proposal on the matter will be referred to the Council (via the Financial Committee) for a final decision at the meeting scheduled for 17 November 2016.

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