Self-Evaluation Report
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SELF-EVALUATION REPORT Benchmarking Visitation: October 2018 Document version: 1.1 Date: 26th September 2018 Prepared by: Brian K. Williams Enrico M. Jacobs Foreword by the chairman It is a good thing to take some time to investigate if the course you are following is still pointing towards the direction you set out. It is a good thing to find out if the travelling companions are still on board, and that they are keeping up. It is a good thing to see if the results achieved are real and tangible and of a high standard. Every five years, Belgium Campus iTversity organises a self-evaluation and an international benchmark exercise to find out if the evolution of the institution is reflecting the development in education, research and development and community engagement we are aiming for. It is part of our quality management and PDCA cycle, to find out if we are still on course, recognise the trends that will lead to new changes, and find out if we are able to offer what is needed, in form, content and delivery. The benchmarking is done in cooperation with strategic international partners. While we are fully engaged to live up to the realities and demands in South Africa, and align our operations accordingly, we need to establish the fact that we reach international standards. After all, BC iTversity as an academic institution connects the local to the global. An international quality benchmark for us is to find out if we are still true to our values, our vision and mission, expressed in the specific goals we have set. We look at how we are doing things, our processes, to see if the interaction of our creating of form, content and delivery is a valid method of developing a curriculum that allows us to reach our goals in teaching and learning, research and development, and empowering and engaging people and communities. Lastly, we want to scrutinise what we are actually doing, we look at our products and see if they live up to South African and international expectations of the stakeholders. Outsiders must recognise and understand that first and foremost, BC iTversity is a South African institution. BC iTversity was established in the hopeful days after apartheid had been abolished, in the halcyon days when the country was redefining itself as the rainbow nation. BC iTversity did not carry any baggage from the past at all, and so we could freely introduce our vision and methods. That has proven to be a major asset. We developed a keen understanding of what was living in society and industry, academia and science, here, but because of our international outlook also elsewhere. This has been a strong advantage. When we arrived on the scene we found a country that was reinventing itself, in full and almost permanent transition, battling with the old, and at the same time getting ready for the new changes and challenges the 21st century is throwing at us. More than other countries South Africa is a land in transition, and we must not forget that and the landscape is constantly shifting, because of political and technological paradigm changes. In those early days, it soon became clear that there was going to be an enormous economic shift in South Africa. The country was moving away from an industry that SELF-EVALUATION REPORT i was heavily based on agriculture and mining. The future lay in the tertiary sector, the provision of services. This transition has caused dramatic changes. A lot of the development of a service-providing industrial model is riding on the development that led to the digital revolution, information technology, the internet (of things), now transforming yet again into Industry 4.0. The statistics show that in South Africa there is a huge shortage of so-called STEM- trained people. This probably is the case all over the world, but because of the peculiarities of the South African educational system this is an even more pressing issue here. There are simply too few people training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The result of that is that even though BC iTversity is a relatively small institution, the educational and industrial footprint of the institution is quite sizeable. This was rapidly noticed by the end stakeholders of the country. Very soon it was clear that BC iTversity was a choice partner for industry and authorities. The result of this is a unique and permanent state of dialogue between institution and stakeholder groups. Employability is a major issue. There are many graduates who have studied and trained in the country who cannot find jobs, and have to be retrained or redirected to other academic fields. This constant dialogue makes sure that the curriculum offers relevant knowledge, skills, competences and personal and professional attitudes. People from Europe or America do not seem to realise that there are other forces and conditions in Africa that have to be taken into account when we are talking about development. As an example, there is the specific case of technology leapfrogging. Africa never could afford to invest in internet cable connections given the geographic and demographic realities of the continent. What happened was that mobile phone, and especially smart phone technology was embraced instead. Based on this technology new, innovative and practical products were developed, much sooner than was the case in the rest of the world. We at BC iTversity had to follow suit, and that is one of the reasons why Botlhale Village is so important. Through this innovation centre we are able to keep track of what is required by the various stakeholders. We supply the necessary R&D to create answers to those questions, as is shown in the products that were developed by us. This in its turn helps to create a unique educational ecology, further conceptualised in our Learning Factory Model and the specific student experience we offer. Our track record is that 100% of our graduates have jobs, because they are immediately employable in industry. Also, they are trained to show sound character and attitude, and they are able to organise their further academic development. And lastly, they are trained to become leaders in their professional fields and communities. It has been our aim to connect knowledge with skills and develop a positive character and a growth mindset to equip the 21st-century learner. This is a ii SELF-EVALUATION REPORT very specific added value which is appreciated by all the stakeholders involved. And this is true empowerment of the people and their communities. Jan K.M. Rombouts Executive chairman Pretoria 6th September 2018 SELF-EVALUATION REPORT iii Contents Foreword by the chairman i Document structure ix Chapter 0 Introduction 1 Belgium Campus iTversity 1 Chapter 1 Diachronic context 7 South Africa 7 Education 13 Chapter 2 Synchronic context 19 Rights and responsibilities 19 Governance and regulation 20 Framework 20 Quality councils 21 Basic education 24 Higher education 26 Vocational education and training 30 References 32 Chapter 3 Character 33 Vision 33 Mission 34 Values 35 A shared belief system 36 Strategies 37 Maximising student success 37 Widening access 39 Increasing output and improving throughput 40 Serving the community 41 Expanding horizons 42 Primary challenge 42 References 42 Chapter 4 Governance 45 Organisation 45 Strategic management 45 SELF-EVALUATION REPORT v Contents Executive management 46 Policy and practice 47 Operational Management 47 Language policy 47 Quality assurance 48 Faculty of Information Technology 49 Operational support services 50 Student representative council 51 Botlhale Village 51 Organisational and functional design 52 Primary challenge 52 References 52 Chapter 5 Academia 53 Qualifications 53 Curricula 55 Internationalisation 56 Extracurricular programmes 58 Primary challenge 58 References 58 Chapter 6 Teaching 61 Vision 61 Academic staff development 61 Resources 62 Exploiting technology 62 Learning materials 63 Student support 63 Mentorship and tutoring 63 Counselling 64 Special needs 64 Guiding principles 65 Primary challenge 66 References 66 Chapter 7 Conclusion 69 Belgium Campus iTversity 70 Forward… an afterword by the CEO 74 vi SELF-EVALUATION REPORT Contents Appendix A Administrative information 79 Legal information 79 Regulatory information 80 Appendix B Glossary 81 Acronyms and abbreviations 81 Definitions 82 Appendix C Legislative and regulatory framework 85 Legislative entities 85 Executive entities 86 Statutory entities 87 Chapter 8 Bachelor of Computing 89 Objective 89 Outcomes 89 Programme 90 Capstone 92 Assessment 95 Validity 95 References 95 Chapter 9 Botlhale Village 97 Operational model 97 Open innovation 98 Accessible and democratic innovation 100 Supportive and accelerating innovation 100 Collaborative innovation 102 Sustainable and impact-yielding innovation 103 References 104 Chapter 10 Curriculum design 105 Design and development 105 Verification and validation 110 Review and renewal 113 References 114 Chapter 11 Internationalisation 115 Rationale 115 Vision of internationalisation 116 SELF-EVALUATION REPORT vii Contents Mission in the context of international development 117 Goals 119 Opportunities 122 References 123 Chapter 12 Performance data 125 Cohorts 125 Enrolments 125 Success rates 126 Success rates per demographic group 126 Chapter 13 Teaching and learning strategy 129 Exemplary instruction 129 Enhancing academics as teachers 135 Feedback and assessment 138 References 140 Appendix D National education and training statistics 143 Schools 143 Higher education institutions 144 Colleges 146 Students with disabilities 147 Appendix E NVAO review standards 149 Framework for institutional reviews 149 Programme accreditation framework 150 Critical reflection 151 Supporting evidence 152 References 152 viii SELF-EVALUATION REPORT Contents Document structure This document is constructed to serve multiple purposes. The reader wishing a first introduction to or overview of the Belgium Campus iTversity may fruitfully read the first eight chapters. These chapters are presented as a continuous narrative which can be read sequentially.