1. 28 August, 2013 Robert J. Balfour Dean of Education Sciences
Professional Development , Short Learning Programmes, and Short Courses at HEIs: HEI survey 2013
28 August, 2013
Robert J. Balfour
Dean of Education Sciences

2. Today’s discussion as based on the survey…
The HEI short course landscape
Implications of policy for universities?
Accreditation issues;
Challenges: QA and other
Way Forward

3. Some points of departure....
a) CPTD has come to the fore arising from the qualification of teachers through the NPDE and ACE in South Africa in terms of the need for further differentiation within the system around formal qualification and less formal development of teachers.
b) It is clear we need a transformed approach to CPTD in which quality of CPTD is assured, whilst allowing for HEIs to exercise flexibility to respond as ‘placed resources’ in relation national, regional and local needs of teachers.

4. More points of departure….
c) The difference between CTPD as leading to, or contributing to further qualifications is different from…
d) CTDP which is less formal (though not to suggest as casual) but equally necessary in terms of SACE requirements.
Professional development (teachers) centres are in the process of being revitalised by provincial departments. Are university’s partnering in these developments or on the side? The EDF can provide guidance and input in this regard.;

5. Internal and external landscapes...
e) CTPD is managed in a responsive, though less coherent manner in universities. SACE proposes that the end-point be accreditation but internal systematization is a challenge.
CTPD is not only about teachers if one considers the needs of FET lecturers in terms of the TVET Policy.
In other words, universities have to enter a new domain in which additional external QA/ accreditation processes need to become more aligned to internal planning and provision processes that might not only be regional.

6. Internal ambiguities & uncertainties
In some universities credit bearing short learning programmes may be partly recognised towards formal qualification.
In other institutions credit bearing short courses cannot be considered towards qualifications, but credits seem to lead to access to further short courses.
In relation to formal CPTD. Accredited short courses might lead to access to accredited short learning programmes, a part of which could be recognised as part of a recognised formal qualification. This implies that we need a more systematic approach to institutional RPL?

7. Institutional Policy on SLPs….
At present ‘policy’ is mostly short-term, income-based and entrepreneurial. This response-based approach sits in tension with the formal accreditation-based approaches used by statutory and legislative bodies (PQMs etc);
The Department of Basic Education is the client of the university in terms of CPTD. The DoHET is the statutory body which recognises qualifications;
The institutional PQM is thus the recognised and accredited list of programmes that includes short learning programmes (SLPs), but regulation is patchy in terms of QA. This needs attention.

8. Institutional responses to academic involvement in SLPs (a QA issue)….
In some faculties short courses are offered by part-time members of staff, or external facilitators and simply Quality Assurred by the University...
In other faculties short courses might be offered by part-time members of staff, but short learning programmes are offered by academic members of staff.
It is clear that the HEI (Education) sector needs to achieve some consistency of understanding QA across the sector so that short courses (accredited and non-or credit -bearing) and short learning programmes (accredited and credit bearing) are consistently described.

9. Way Forward and the EDF…
Can we develop a consensus framework (with definitions and terms) as regards how CPTD will be approached in education faculties (HEIs) in SA? (so that CHE/ DoHET/ SACE as stakeholders engage with HEIs in a consistent manner)
Can we engage with SACE and the DoHET together around the status of the PQM in relation to CPTD? (so that we can consider an expedited or automatic recognition of SLPs at least)
We have to make space for accredited non-credit bearing short courses as part of CPTD. How do we recognise these in terms of RPL (so that there is consistency for teachers in relation how HEIs recognise short courses and SLPs).

10. Bram Schouwstra (UODL, NWU)
Acknowledgements
Bram Schouwstra (UODL, NWU)
Thank you