The CHE calls for sector-wide ownership of curriculum transformation that moves beyond compliance
Higher education institutions must take full ownership of curriculum transformation and help shape a forward-looking standard that surpasses compliance. This was the call from the Council on Higher Education (CHE) senior leadership, who closed the national consultation on curriculum transformation by urging universities to drive reform with intent, responsibility and long-term vision.
Dr Britta Zawada (right), Director: Institutional Audits at the CHE, addressed delegates at the launch of the Universities South Africa (USAf) and CHE baseline study on curriculum transformation report on 10 June, outside Johannesburg.
The report launch was followed by a stakeholder consultation workshop whose input will inform the Higher Education Practice Standards (HEPS) to support the implementation of the study findings.
Putting things into perspective, Dr Zawada said: “Our HEPS are research-informed. They are not directly and only led by research – and I think that’s important to point out,” she said. “So to say that the research says otherwise does not mean that there are no other considerations that the [Higher Education Quality Committee] HEQC has to take into account.”
Dr Zawada also clarified the CHE’s role in this process, saying that the sector tends to think of the CHE as owning codes of practice for quality assurance. “The CHE gets accused of this thing of standardisation or this idea that standardisation is about compliance. The Higher Education Practice Standards are codes of practice. They are meant to enable reflection and should be interpreted and implemented in different institutional contexts. They are not meant to be about minimum compliance.”
“They are not standard sets. They are developed and are also meant to enable contextual responsiveness and enable that shift away from the compliance approach… We are trying to shift institutions away from minimum criteria of compliance towards a more developmental approach.”
The CHE does not impose standards
The CHE’s role, she emphasised, is to co-ordinate, guide and quality-assure, but not to impose. Institutions must take ownership of their curriculum transformation journeys and ensure that the HEPS becomes a living, responsive framework that informs practice on the ground.
On the inclusion of private higher education institutions, Dr Zawada said that although the baseline study focused on public universities, work will be extended to the private sector once the resources become available.
Dr Sanele Nene (left), Director: National Standards and Reviews and Acting Director: Institutional Audits at the CHE, closed the day’s proceedings by urging universities to deeply reflect on the purpose and future relevance of their transformation efforts. He reminded delegates that transformation must not be limited to addressing historical injustices, but must also anticipate and help shape the future.
“We also have to look at it in the future so that we take into account things that we do not know. We should create a HEPS that, to a reasonable extent, can at least predict the future so that we are not reactive all the time. We have to be innovative and be proactive, and say this is the future we want and this is where we want this to go.”
Dr Nene acknowledged the institutions and researchers who contributed to the baseline report, noting the limitations they faced in sourcing documentation and working with institutional self-evaluation reports. The reports that the study drew from, he said, reflect a specific moment in time and should not be seen as complete or conclusive. He noted that the baseline study was an important starting point, but more work is needed to fully grasp the complexity of curriculum transformation across the system.
He reminded delegates that genuine transformation cannot happen without the will to confront uncomfortable truths. He urged institutions to ground their work in evidence and warned against the dangers of side-stepping what might be uncomfortable truths. “We cannot take the sector forward in terms of transformation, either of the curriculum, of the society, or of the institution, if we are avoiding truths and facts,” he said. “You cannot understand the context in which these things must happen if you don’t want to touch on truth and facts.”
Dr Nene pointed out that some systemic issues in higher education, such as patriarchy, are not simply matters of opinion but are facts and lived realities. “We have to be uncomfortable in actually saying this is the truth, these are the facts, and this is how we go over these things going forward, even if we feel like we are victims.”
Nontobeko Mtshali is a contracted writer for Universities South Africa.
