Page 31 - Transformation Indaba Report

How to define metrics? There are a lot of metrics just about The Quintile system could reflect the student’s background.
race and how many people are passing or failing or being How to respond to students’ lived experience? African
admitted. Interesting literature exists about success being students aren’t passing in minimum time, and this links
measured taking background and where one comes from into back to changes in the schooling system. Questioning the
consideration. There’ll always be a range of grades. Success idea of a credit being 10 notional learning hours – and is
rates aren’t affected by the student’s background. There- this still appropriate in the SA context and the schooling
fore, shouldn’t the institution move towards a more nuanced system students come from? Need a 4-year accounting
type of metrics? Consider student’s schooling and lived degree rather? Data in accounting provides strong evidence
experiences. to suggest we need a 4-year degree, certainly for students
we serve in our community. (Amanda)

If we think back to the humanising pedagogical approach, Agreement that there are initiatives at faculty-level for
then getting to know our students and who they are is a transforming curriculum and that there are pockets of
core driver of that approach. Amanda’s argument is that excellence. A whole series of curriculum conversa-
we found that there are other ways to group students tions focusing specifically on what was happening at
yet, we currently go with the conventional metrics and different schools around transformation and what could
often, those metrics are the ones we are expected to be done were held (2021), so that data is available at
report on, to DHET and others. Discussions were had with faculty level. Some schools and departments are leading
the deanery leadership where we talked about the indi- in faculties. What often happens though, is competing
vidual, and how they grow and develop. Yet we lump of priorities. Transformation is therefore compromised
everything into one category. (C Foxcroft) when there is a desire to finish a course/module and to
submit marks. The priorities are the day-to-day work
issues as opposed to curriculum transformation.

Questioning the extent to which our mandate to transform curriculum is complemented by policy guidelines at national level
or directives from structures that seek to monitor standards of our curriculum or programs. Does the body look specifically at
issues around curriculum? Observation made - seems the exercise of revising curriculum becomes more quantitative rather
than qualitative.

If we want to transform, what re/sources do we draw from at the university? What do we adopt, and what sources do we
draw from as we transform because we have been socialized and in this institution that we’re trying to transform, we have
specific ways of how to produce knowledge, the methodologies and so forth, and it would seem as if the transformation
agenda requires more, yet are we skilled enough to engage in the way that is required of us? Importantly, what resources do
we draw from if one looks at the issue of the canon in Higher Education? If we say a transformed curriculum requires a
diversified canon, then what sources do we draw from?

Pam was asked to comment on the University’s approach to multilingualism and its impact on curriculum transformation and
learning delivery. We are in the process of revising a language policy where the focus is on language not as a transactional
tool to communicate, because we’ve seen in other institutions that have multi-lingual policies and that adopt bilingual parallel
medium education, it doesn’t work. Therefore, our approach is for the revised language policy is that we should be looking
at language as a resource from which to grow other knowledges that are not dominant in our institutions. Refer to CS who
raised the issue of power. If we must talk about language issues in Higher Education, we must start from the position of power
relations - power in knowledge in Higher Education. So, we must look at language as presenting an opportunity of diversifying
knowledge. (Pam)

NelsoN MaNdela UNiversity • traNsforMatioN iNdaba • 2022 25