Since 1994, there has been consensus in South Africa that higher education should be planned, governed and funded as a national system. Planning, funding and quality assurance remain the three key steering instruments for achieving the transformation of the higher education system in support of the country’s social, political and economic development needs.

 

The Government’s planning processes that are in place in the higher education sector include the sustainable management of student enrolments and the approval of programme and qualification mixes for each institution. Enrolment planning should therefore not be seen in isolation from broader planning processes or from funding and quality assurance imperatives.

 

Nelson Mandela University pursues a sustainable growth strategy in terms of its student enrolments, staff capacity, financial resources and infrastructural facilities as critical enablers of high-quality educational provision. Our enrolment planning is based on the following three core principles, namely: 

  • We must respond appropriately to national human resource development and research priorities, particularly in scarce skills fields such as teacher education, science, engineering, and health sciences.
  • Enrolments should be matched to available resources to enable the University to deliver on its teaching and research mandate.
  • We must focus on improving graduation and success rates through the better management of new student intakes, monitoring the academic progress of students, and systematically applying guidelines informing the readmission of returning students.

  

Contact information
Prof Heather Nel
Senior Director: Institutional Strategy
Tel: 27 41 504 4511
Heather.Nel@mandela.ac.za