DESCRIPTION

Soon after the approval of the White Paper #3 and Higher Education Act of 1997, several Vice-Chancellors began discussing the implications for institutions of the proposed changes and a range of possible strategies for implementation. These conversations included several senior staff of the Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET) and the American Council on Education (ACE). Discussion revolved around ways in which changes would affect institutional planning and budgets - how the implementation process might work in the context of institutional realities, and what their funding implications would be for institutions. The outcome of these consultations was agreement that that it would be helpful to assemble a group of institutions to examine planning and budget implications of the White Paper #3 using individual institutional data.

Four institutions joined in The Pilot Project Consortium, contributing significantly throughout the life of the Project. They were Peninsula Technikon, University of Durban-Westville, University of Natal, and ML Sultan Technikon. The institutions examined their own financial and other data related to the focus areas of the Project. We hope that some of the lessons learned from this intensive effort will result in perspectives and recommendations that are useful for other institutions and individuals interested in educational policy.

 

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

 

Chapter 1: Redress Funding

1.1 Background

1.2 The Pilot Project Focus on Redress

1.3 Pilot Project Recommendations Forwarded to the Department of Education

1.4 The 1998 Interim Redress Review

1.5 Redress Funding 1999 to 2000

1.6 Lessons Learned

 

Chapter 2: The Cost of Failure

2.1 Background

2.2 Identifying SAPSE Funding Issues

2.3 Questions to be Examined

2.4 Data Collection and Analysis

2.5 Critical Issues Impacting Budget Formula Changes

2.6 Recommendations Forwarded to the CHE, the Department and Ministry of Education in 1998

2.7 Processing the Recommendations

2.8 Outcomes and Lessons Learned

 

Chapter 3: Benchmarking Quality Programmes

3.1 Background

3.2 Assessing Cost Implications of Quality Programmes

3.3 Summary of Findings

3.4 Conclusions

3.5 Lessons Learned

 

Chapter 4: Steering Mechanisms

4.1 Background

4.2 Project Goals

4.3 The Grant-Related Process

4.4 Outcomes

4.5 Recommendations

4.6 Lessons Learned

 

Chapter 5: The Next Generation of Academics

5.1 Background

5.2 Recommendations

5.3 Questions for Future Studies

5.4 Lessons Learned

 

Chapter 6: Conclusions

6.1 Lessons Learned

6.2 Pilot Project Closure

 

Glossary of Abbreviations

Table 1: University of Durban-Westville - Pilot Project Data 1995 - 96

Table 2: University of Durban-Westville - Financial Impact of Failures of First-Time Entering Students

Table 3: Cost of Failure: Financial Impact of Failures of First Year / First-Time Entering Students

Table 4: Comparative FTE Cost Data of Pilot Project Benchmark Departments

Table 5: Program Cost and Benchmarking

Table 6: Next Generation of Academics