EXPLORING THE POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR FLEXIBLE PROVISION IN AN INTEGRATED POST-SCHOOLING SYSTEM NADEOSA, PRETORIA Dr JC Botha Director: Office of the Principal 24 June

ACCESS In 2012, 59% of students were enrolled in contact programmes, while close to 41% were enrolled in distance education programmes. Unisa, which remains South Africa’s only dedicated comprehensive distance education institution, enrolled 85% of all ODL students, comprising over 35% of our national enrolment in HE. These figures assert distance education as a key, influential HE provider in South Africa. In South Africa, ODL students are in the main, mature students wanting to improve their qualifications, or accessing higher education for the first time, by dint of personal circumstances. Only about 25% of Unisa’s odd students are under 23. The White Paper nevertheless asserts that Unisa should continue to focus on the more mature students. This begs the question: “Who will be the chief accommodators of the more than additional students envisaged to be in the University system by 2030?” Is the University sector ready, willing or able to expand into ODL provision to such an extent over the next 15 years, or will there be an expectation on Unisa, to bear the brunt of these additional enrolments ? Will DE providers be able to absorb such large additional numbers when our current systems and capacities are under pressure - and still produce quality, relevant graduates?

ODL and TVETS The White Paper asserts: There is currently little distance education provision for the post-school sector below university level. The Department will seriously investigate the possibility of providing distance education programmes at the TVET and community college level, including dedicated staff and equipment. The theoretical component of apprenticeships might also be offered through distance education, especially for those students who live or work far from an appropriate college or who prefer this model. ODL should play an increasing role in the TVET sector, through collaborations which could entail the training and upgrading of TVET staff; collaboration on joint curricula, student progression from TVET colleges to universities, training lecturers of TVET colleges, upgrading TVET lecturer qualifications, and creating programmes on governance and administration TVET colleges. The intention is for TVETs to have an enrolment of approximately two-and-a-half million by additional burden for ODeL The TVET sector is currently in disarray and the resources and capacities required to arrive at efficient and effective quality providers, will undoubtedly place an additional burden on other public HEIs and especially DE providers, working in collaboration with the TVET sector, towards their successful operationalization.

TOWARDS A MORE EXPANDED AND INTEGRATED HIGHER EDUCATION LANDSCAPE Unisa is no longer the sole provider of DE. The DHET is aiming for a post-school distance education landscape based on open learning principles, to complement the traditional campus-based provision. It will consist of a network of education providers supported by learning support centres and/or connectivity for students and will make available a wide range of learning opportunities to potential students that are closer to their homes and at times appropriate to their contexts. The DHET encourages the development and use of high quality national learning resources such as OER, the collaborative development of learning resources, more efficient use of existing infrastructure, and an increasing emphasis on independent study as preparation for subsequent lifelong learning. Universities, especially comprehensive universities and universities of technology, will be encouraged to expand distance higher education for vocationally oriented diploma programmes, and all universities will be encouraged to expand online and blended learning as a way to offer niche programmes. There is evidence of this happening already - niche areas likely (Tuks and Northwest – both education) and where there are appropriate and existing systemic support structures and capacity in place. growth in DE provision will require continuing professional development for full-time staff in the post-school sector, as well as an increase in staff numbers as the numbers of distance education enrolments grows. In addition, it is essential to expand equitable access to ICT resources. Makes sense for DE providers to work collaboratively and to share the cost and workload involved in courseware development. OERs and MOOCs (POPI and copyright challenges) Possible loss of staff – talent management

QUALITY The WP asserts that the existing structures and remits of the Quality Councils will remain largely unchanged, but individual Councils will be have greater flexibility to quality assure qualifications on NQF levels from which they were previously restricted. So for example, Umalusi could quality assure certain Level 5 qualifications on the General and Further Education and Training Qualifications Framework. SAQA will mediate where differences arise between Quality Councils. …..Ensuring articulation of qualifications is an important concern for the DHET as well as for SAQA and the Quality Councils. SAQA must provide guidance on articulation between the three sub- frameworks and must endeavour to ensure that institutions avoid unfair and irrational barriers to acceptance and credit transfer. And of course this goes back to the point that I made earlier, on articulation, and the extent to which ODL providers will be called on to participate in, and facilitate that process. Globally, one of the key concerns around ODL - and especially ODeL - is the issue of quality. But in South Africa ODL is an accepted component of South Africa’s HE system, which is quality assured. With the narrowing of the gap between DE and contact education provision in South African HE in particular, DE providers will have to improve on the quality of their offerings; the levels of service; throughput and success rates; and most importantly, the calibre of their graduates. Improved success rates will to a large extent be dependent on the acceptance of bridging programmes at TVET colleges; an increase in remuneration costs for academic staff; improved teaching and learning skills through staff development programmes; revised admission requirements; programmes packaging, PQM and modules, rules of progression and critically important, ICT systems support. And let us not forget the all-important issue of connectivity – especially in the rural areas. We need to lobby government to speed up national internet connectivity. 9

CONCLUSION The New Media Consortium (NMC) Horizon Report: 2014 Higher Education Edition identifies 6 key trends that are anticipated to emerge more strongly in higher education over the short to medium-term (that is, 3 – 5 years). These are: Growing Ubiquity of Social Media; Integration of Online, Hybrid, and Collaborative Learning; Rise of Data-Driven Learning and Assessment; Shift from Students as Consumers to Students as Creators; Agile Approaches to Change; and the evolution of Online Learning. Aligned to these, 6 challenges are identified: Low Digital Fluency of Faculty; Relative Lack of rewards for Teaching; Competition from New Models of Education; Scaling Teaching Innovations into practice; Expanding Access (Over the next 12 years, the World Bank estimates a 25% increase in global higher education attendance from 200 to 250 million – some even suggest 262 million); and Keeping Education Relevant (The paradigm that has worked for over a century is gradually becoming obsolete – what will we replace it with and will it be at appropriate quality levels?) All of these point to the growth in ODeL in higher education provision. The White paper has paved the way for all HEIs to participate in that process. In South Africa we are witnessing a fundamental reshaping and reordering of HE that is drawing HEIs closer together in a way that presupposes far greater collaboration – not only amongst institutions but also with government, business and other HEI stakeholders - and that brings DE into focus as a key role player and game-changer 10

THANK YOU AND QUESTIONS 20