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IM Newsletter |
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| 28 February 2011 |
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This newsletter captures the essence of key discussion points from the monthly IM Committee meetings in order to keep senior managers in the Institutional Office and on the three campuses abreast of developments and also empower you as managers with accurate information to disseminate further to members of your respective departments.
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NWU participates in the ACU University Management Benchmarking Programme
The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) has identified the North-West University (NWU) as one of the participants in its university management benchmarking programme for 2011. The programme, which started in 1995 and aims to help participants identify their strengths and weaknesses within the management of their own universities as well as provide a mechanism for capturing best management practices, will focus on the following three topics:
• Managing the university of the future
• Branding and marketing
• Human resources management
This programme, based on process benchmarking, will allow the NWU and other institutions to compare themselves with others, identify their comparative strengths and weaknesses and learn how to improve.
The IM endorsed a recommendation for an Institutional Task Team to be convened to co-ordinate the compilation of the NWU portfolio for the ACU benchmarking programme. The members of this task team, Prof Marlene Verhoef, Executive Advisor in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor: Strategy and Projects, Ms Phumzile Mmope, Executive Director: Corporate Affairs and Relations and Mr Victor Mothobi: Executive Director: Human Capital, will work with representatives from the three campuses to finalise the portfolio in time for its submission to the ACU Organising Committee on 14 March 2011. Later, from 22 to 24 August 2011, a workshop for the participating universities will be held at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
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Higher Education Qualification Framework placed under the spotlight
The Institutional Office and the three campuses are currently focusing their attention on the University's submission to the Council on Higher Education for the revision of the Higher Education Qualification Framework (HEQF).
Before the set 30 September 2011 target date, the NWU needs to submit detailed information about its academic programmes to the Council. In order to tackle this challenging task, the Institutional Project Office has already started a project in co-operation with the relevant NWU stakeholders. This project aims to gather the required information using a prescribed template under three categories, namely:
• A - Programmes that need to be slightly adapted to fit the format of the quality framework
• B - Programmes that require some development before they can be aligned
• C - Programmes that cannot be aligned at all and need to be either phased out or replaced
In order to ensure this process runs smoothly, resources will be provided and two phases are planned. During Phase one, from April to September 2011, the programmes will be classified according to the abovementioned categories and the Category A programmes will be submitted. Thereafter, during Phase two, from October 2011 to December 2014, the Category B programmes will receive attention.
All higher education institutions in South Africa are required to provide the information on the same prescribed template to the Council for Higher Education. Once the process is complete, the data about programmes offered at SA's universities and universities of technology will be made available nationally.
More information about the project will be communicated in due course by the Institutional Project Office.
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IM supports investigation for possible Oracle Financial System replacement
The IM has endorsed a proposal to launch a further investigation of the Kuali Financial System (KFS) as a possible alternative for the Oracle Financial System. Support for the current version of Oracle will be suspended in 2012, and the NWU will have to upgrade to the latest version - version 12. This undertaking will have an enormous impact in terms of cost and work involved, as the upgrade will be as extensive as a new implementation. As a result, the University sees this as the ideal opportunity to reflect as to whether the Oracle system is still the most effective in terms of functionality, cost, technology and addressing users' needs.
Kuali is a growing community of universities, colleges, businesses, and other organisations that have partnered to build and sustain open-source software FOR higher education, BY higher education. A small delegation of the NWU attended the conference, "Kuali Days 2010", in order to familiarise themselves with the system and meet current users. Afterwards, this concluded that it would be worthwhile to investigate Kuali Financial Systems (KFS) as an alternative for Oracle Finance.
The investigation will continue in June 2011 in the form of an intensive workshop with experts from America. The Universities of Stellenbosch and Johannesburg have already indicated their possible interest in participating in this investigation.
No decision has been made yet in this regard and users can rest assured that only the best solution will be accepted for the NWU in terms of functionality, effectiveness, user friendliness, technology and costs. Further developments will be communicated in due course.
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NWU receives more NSFAS funds in 2011
The NWU has received an additional R7,7 million in excess of the 2010 allocation from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa (NSFAS). Each campus received the same NSFAS provision as in 2010 and the additional amount from the 2011 NSFAS allocation, was distributed in relation to the total number of successful applications received per campus.
In addition, qualifying NWU final-year students stand to benefit from a new NSFAS fund announced recently by Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training. The new NSFAS fund, aimed at assisting final-year students who will graduate in 2011, is regarded as a bursary and not a loan.
All final-year students who wish to apply for this specific bursary must pass all modules this year in order to obtain their degrees and also qualify in terms of the NSFAS means test. Should they not obtain their degrees, the amount allocated to them will be handled as a loan and not as a bursary.
In order for students to apply, the particular school director must certify that should the student pass the listed modules, he or she would qualify to obtain the degree. It is important to note that school directors are under no circumstances expected to say that the student will pass, but only that he or she is registered for the necessary modules to obtain a degree. It is however expected of academics to implement additional measures to assist struggling students.
According to the system, in terms of the expected number of final-year students the NWU can obtain an additional amount of approximately R39 million from the Department. This will be handled by means of an application to the central NSFAS fund, after which the money will be allocated to the University.
For more information please phone:
Mafikeng Campus: Bogadi Sito (018-389 2546)
Potchefstroom Campus: Danie Hefer (018-299 2048)
Vaal Triangle Campus: Anna-Marie van der Elst (016-910 3154)
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Improved self-registration system sets new record for students' registration
More than 500 students per day were able to register themselves on-line, thanks to improvements implemented on the Varsité Student System (VSS). This new record illustrated that the NWU's goal to allow more students to self-register using a web interface was within reach. In the past, this has only been possible for students with clean academic records.
The new and improved system offers a functionality that makes it possible for academic rules to be applied on a module basis. This ensures correct registration from any computer connected to the NWU network. One of the big benefits of this system is that registration queues will soon be a thing of the past and the curriculum control process will be improved.
The new system was implemented on a pilot basis in one faculty on each Campus and delivered satisfactory results. The system will be rolled out in full in 2012.
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NWU Student Representative (SRC) workshop a huge success
The Student Representative Councils (SRCs) of the three campuses recently took part in a workshop aimed at developing their understanding of their roles as leaders, their relationship with the various levels of management, and familiarising them with their connection to mission elements and targets set out in the Institutional Plan.
A total of 40 SRC members from the Mafikeng, Potchefstroom and Vaal Triangle Campuses attended the interactive workshop facilitated by Mr Eric Mafuna, of the African Leadership Group. The involvement of the deans and directors of students, student coordinators as well as the Executive Director: Human Capital and the Mafikeng Campus Rector contributed to the good relationship between staff and students. The workshop succeeded in empowering the students as leaders, and provided an opportunity for interaction.
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Please send any enquiries or comments to Marelize Santana
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Click here to read the newsletter in Afrikaans
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