Nico Cloete UOFS January 2014

Theory and Research Issues 1.Strengthening knowledge production is a matter of training but needs to be informed by research, and not be mimicking so called global best practices 2.Higher education is supposed to be about new knowledge and innovation, but it is largely about imitation of high status institutions or global fads (Goedegebuure and Meek, 1998) 3.Through a process of mimetic normative isomorphism, the new professionalising managements notions of successful institutions have been mimicked and exchanged through professional networks to promote and consolidate their position in the institution (Gornitska and Larsen, 2004). 4.Country and institutional differentiation seems to be largely ignored in universal prescriptions (medicine) 5.Riesmans snake dilemma in higher education

3 A differentiated public university system (2010)

University Entrants End of year 1End of year 3End of year 5*End of 6 years North West University Dropping out AT: 21%32%35%37% Graduating AT: 38%61%63% University of Cape Town Dropping out AT: 22%32%35%36% Graduating AT: 38%62%64% University of Free State Dropping out AT: 24%43%50%55% Graduating AT: 20%42%45% University of Johannesburg Dropping out AT: 23%32%36%39% Graduating AT: 35%58%61% National (excl. UNISA) Dropping out AT: 24%37%41%44% Graduating AT: 29%53%56% Completion of 3 year degrees – 2006 cohort * Includes students that would have returned the next year

Progress of 2004 intakes of new doctoral students after 7 years

African doctoral graduates by institution as % of total doctoral graduates, 2011

Percentage of the academic staff with doctorates by institution, 2011

Ratios of doctoral graduates to academic staff with doctoral degrees, 2011

Research outputs, 2012

Proportion of black doctoral graduates as % of total doctoral graduates per university, 2011

Increases in doctoral graduates, 2008 to 2011