The Institutional Audit’s preparation for the Council on Higher Education’s (CHE) audit of the Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) quality assurance system for the period 2018 to 2021 is progressing. Many initiatives have taken place over the last month and they are moving closer to the completion of the self-evaluation report by end November.

Over the past two months, the Institutional Audit Working Group (IAWG) has had ‘roadshows’ and meetings with staff across all ambits of the university, raising awareness of the Institutional Audit and explaining DUT’s approach which is inclusive and collaborative. the IAWG members are working with coordinators from the Teaching and Learning ambit and with representatives of support departments to obtain the information needed to provide an accurate reflection of the ways that the university’s quality system and processes function coherently to enhance DUT students’ experience and success.

The Institutional Audit Working Group (IAWG) has facilitated writing workshops with staff members from the Research, Innovation, and Engagement (RIE) and Teaching and Learning T&L) ambits. The Deputy Vice-Chancellors (DVCs), some Executive Deans and the Director of Information Communication Technology Services (ICTS) worked closely with senior academics to discuss and reflect on the quality of DUT governance structures, academic leadership and university processes. This was a successful initiative!

An advocacy campaign is underway. Several meetings have been held with staff from Corporate Affairs including an IA branding design (Design Studio), design of flyers and posters, and a banner on DUT’s website. IAWG members are also working with Corporate Affairs to book venues, and are also trying ensure that the university campuses are well-presented for the IA site visit.

The IAWG continues to meet regularly with Steering Committee members and the DVC: T&L, with oversight by ambit committees and approval by EMC-Senex. Their intention is to submit a robust report that demonstrates the quality systems and processes we have in place to enhance the likelihood of student success and provide students with a quality experience.

It has been challenging to obtain the quality and quantity of input from some support departments. In order to deal with these challenges, the IAWG will arrange face-to-face meetings with some departments to collect the information needed. An area of concern is that the involvement of students in the process has been very limited. Some under-graduate and post-graduate representatives have been interviewed, but aside from the Student Representative Council (SRC) representatives’ presence at Faculty Boards and other university meetings where the IAWG has provided updates on the SER progress, unfortunately they have not responded to requests for engagement.

The IAWG is appealing to the university community to continue to support and contribute to the completion of the self-evaluation report. The IAWG will be liaising with departments to provide additional evidence (as and when required) as the project is evidence-driven. This is a university project and is the responsibility of all the university people!

Pictured: Professor Runette Kruger. Executive Dean Faculty of Arts and Design, and Prof Suren Singh, Acting DVC Teaching & Learning and Executive Dean: Faculty of Applied Sciences, at the workshop.

Dr Paulette Powell, Institutional Audit Project Manager