The Universities South Africa Board of Directors endorses the 2024 focus areas of its strategy groups

At the ordinary meeting of Universities South Africa’s Board of Directors, the Chairperson of the Funding Strategy Group (FSG), Professor Bismark Tyobeka, who is also the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the North-West University, advised the Board that the FSG wished to continue into 2024 with the priorities for 2023. He said the impending cuts to state subsidies to the sector in 2024 and the uncertainties surrounding the National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) rendered the long-term financial sustainability of universities a priority concern. However, some of the FSG priorities, as carried over from 2023, could be lumped together under one heading.

Thus, the priorities presented to the Board from 2024 were as follows:

a. Review of the long-term financial sustainability of the higher education sector considering income streams and efficiencies. This priority would follow up on the “Study on the long-term financial sustainability of the higher education sector considering income streams and efficiencies. The FSG was mandated to lead the sector in proactively addressing misconceptions surrounding university reserves and third-stream income. This would entail communicating more effectively to the public and stakeholders about the purpose of these funds. Sub-themes under the long-term financial sustainability of higher education would be:

1. Sustainable financial support for students – incorporating the NSFAS student funding model, funding for the missing middle and funding for post-graduate students; and thus, carry sub-themes such as:
2. Funding for student accommodation and other university infrastructure, and
3. Inequalities in the system – this would take into consideration the Sibusiso Bhengu programme, with a nuance on the historically disadvantaged institutions, and the unresolved issues around the BBBEE scorecard.

b. Shared services platform for the broader university sector. The FSG maintained that universities must consider some kind of shared services, noting the differential capacities in the system to procure specific services. Professor Tyobeka said the PURCO model remained an example to explore in keeping this discourse alive.

The Board approved these priorities.

The core team comprised 10 experts supported by 20 contributors, of whom Professor Du Plessis was one. This panel spent two years analysing the South African economy and its growth prospects and composed 20 papers spanning all aspects of South Africa’s economic policy to accelerate growth, halve poverty and eradicate unemployment.  Professor Du Plessis’s contributions included two papers that he co-wrote with two other scholars in 2007.

The Board endorsed this appointment, as it did the USAf Resource Mobilisation Strategy 2024 to 26 aimed at improving USAf’s sustainability and strengthening its support to universities through its projects and programmes. The strategy is also aimed to enable the organisation to realise its objectives laid out in the Strategic Framework 2020 to 2026, and in the Three-Year Implementation Plan of 2024 to 2026.

In the context of the Open Access project, which advocates for the transformation of scholarly publishing from the current subscription model to new open and unrestricted access to scholarly outputs, the USAf Board was requested to endorse two letters addressed to two publishing houses, EBSCO Information Services, and Taylor & Francis, respectively.  The letters, authored by the FSG Chairperson, were in support of the South African National Library and Information Consortium (SANLiC), which has been leading South Africa’s negotiations with publishing houses on transforming their current publishing practices.

These letters highlight the consequences to South Africa’s knowledge system, of inevitable increases in subscription fees in respect of these publishers for the next three years, stemming from the Rand / Dollar exchange rate and the normal inflation-related price escalations.

The Board endorsed the two letters.

Similarly, the RISG, under the chairpersonship of Professor Thoko Mayekiso, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Mpumalanga, would retain the 2023 priorities, slightly tweaked as follows:

a) Innovation – Of concern is how knowledge generated from research can improve people’s quality of life and well-being, and scoping universities’ progress concerning innovation and social entrepreneurship.

b) Research and innovation impact – Alongside the research impact framework of the National Research Foundation, the RISG, drawing from a recommendation of the 2023 Research and Innovation Dialogue, will explore developing a nationally co-ordinated system for impact assessment, and the development of a national database of universities’ case studies of demonstrated societal impact.

c) Cooperation and collaboration on internationalisation — Drawing from findings of a study just completed, that sought to determine the state of internationalisation activities at South African universities, the British Council, in collaboration with IEASA, will explore funding possibilities in aid of universities towards implementing the Policy Framework on Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa. The RISG awaits the final report of the study by the end of 2023, following which it will monitor the environment for further developments.

d) Engaged science and scholarship — The RISG aims to encourage new knowledge and knowledge integration for the mutual benefit of the non-academic public, community partners, and universities through active engagement and the integration of theory and practice. To that end, the RISG will explore facilitating a symposium with universities and other role-players to identify and agree on specific initiatives.

b) Optimising technologies to improve the quality of learning and teaching and assessment Recognising the myriad of new teaching and learning approaches to digital education that have been developed since the pandemic, the Board approved the TLSG’s proposal in October 2022 to establish a Community of Practice (CoP) on Digital Education and Professional Development. During 2023, 17 institutions responded to a survey providing inputs on the structure of this CoP and its focus areas. Universities recommended that the CoP focus on sharing experiences and resources, reflecting on teaching and learning challenges and innovations; finding meaningful ways to collaborate; developing a set of standards for teaching and learning practitioners; establishing networks and international benchmarking. During October, the Terms of Reference of this CoP were being finalised with a view to commence operating in earnest in 2024.

c) Promoting multilingual approaches to learning and teaching: Four senior language specialists are working together to develop a multilingual framework for learning and teaching. They have planned a benchmarking exercise to investigate the strategies, policies, and procedures that universities must have to support multilingualism. To that end, a project proposal was being developed for implementation in 2024.

The Board also heard that the terms of office of three members of the TLSG were eligible for extension by another two years. These were Professor Vivienne Lawack, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at the University of the Western Cape; Professor Nokuthula Sibiya, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning at the Durban University of Technology and

Professor Laura Czerniewicz, Director: Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching at the University of Cape Town.

The Board approved the continuing membership of Professor Lawack. The TLSG’s recommendation for Professor Czerniewicz’s continuity, and the replacement of Professor Sibiya will be tabled in the first meeting of the Board in the first quarter of 2024, considering that the latter was no longer available to serve as a member of this Group.

c.  Campus safety with a focus on mental health and positively influencing higher education sector responses to gender-based violence: Noting the work that Higher Health has undertaken on these areas in the past year, the TSG is exploring ways to collaborate with Higher Health in taking this priority forward. This, as the DHET continues to consult with universities towards establishing Minimum Physical Security Standards Blueprint for Universities aimed at enhancing campus safety, to address the student violence related aspect of campus safety. For 2024, the TSG will incorporate the research study on different forms of violence on campuses – into this priority.

To give effect to The Engaged University project, the TSG requested Board approval to pilot in South Africa, the Carnegie Foundation’s elective Classification for Community Engagement. This is a tool that universities and colleges in the United States use to gain recognition for institutionalising community engagement. Subject to Board approval, the TSG is considering undertaking an environmental scan of community engagement in South Africa’s institutions as part of exploring the suitability of applying the tool in the South African environment.

Accessible at a cost in US$, the tool can be piloted and redesigned to suit the context of the implementing country. However, the Carnegie Foundation said the cost was negotiable; it mentioned sponsorship possibilities and suggested that the tool could also be implemented in collaboration with other institutions in the region.

This Group asked to explore its priority focus areas of 2024 in their first meeting in 2024, and to present them to the Board at a later stage.

c.  Global Engagement: By examining models and innovative thinking from international and regional good practice, higher education leaders in South Africa can broaden their horizons and engage with future-facing concepts. This goes beyond mere adaptation to current digital trends and delving into visionary planning for the next decade and beyond.

 d.  Ownership, Purpose, and Sustainability of HELM: The focus here is on the financial sustainability and expansion of HELM. Identifying opportunities within SADC universities and private institutions illustrates a strategic awareness of both domestic and regional potential. Planning for market growth while maintaining a strong position in the existing landscape is essential for the future of HELM.

The Board approved both the LMSG Terms of Reference and the set priorities for 2024 to 2026.

As Professor Muthwa drew the Ordinary Meeting of the Board to a close, she thanked staff at the USAf Office and Secretariat for their support to the Board and extended her gratitude to her fellow board members for their support during her four-year tenure.

She thus adjourned the ordinary meeting as it geared for the next leg, of the USAf Annual General Meeting.

‘Mateboho Green is the Manager: Corporate Communications at Universities South Africa.