Our transformation journey

The journey with Covid-19, the academe and students

Issues around access, redress and equity have come to the fore amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has exposed inequalities in students' access to and competencies on technology and its functions.

In response, we have adjusted and continued to refine our internal platforms for teaching, learning and research to make the online environment more accessible to our students.

These online platforms were zero-rated and devices and data were provided to students who needed these, ensuring that our students had the opportunity to complete the academic programme online and remotely, and to participate in university life on an equal footing.

Monitoring transformation

Our ability to monitor the progress of transformation across the NWU has become more and more sophisticated, thanks to mechanisms such as our transformation dashboard, which we have been constantly refining.

Procurement was an ongoing focus in 2021 and has resulted in achievements such as the development of a preferential procurement strategy involving SMMEs.

Within the student leadership and governance environment, the critical role of student leaders in driving sustainable transformation at grassroots level was strengthened in 2021. Specific student-leadership portfolios were established, tasked with the development of transformation and diversity within the student domain.

We can safely say that at the NWU, reporting on transformation has become more comprehensive and coherent, in line with the broader institutional goals and objectives.

Overseeing transformation

Several structures reporting to Council play an oversight role in ensuring that the university remains on track with its transformation targets and goals. The Council subcommittees concerned are the Transformation Oversight Committee, the People and Culture and Employment Equity Committee and the Student Life Oversight Committee.

The Institutional Forum (IF) fulfils an important advisory role on transformation matters. In 2021, the IF was chaired by the executive director for student life, Dr Sibusiso Chalufu, whose assigned function at the NWU is transformation.

In addition to these formal governance structures, transformation is considered a primary objective for staff and students who are encouraged to seek innovative and practical mechanisms to create a diverse student population and student leadership cohort.

Adding value

We stepped up efforts to remove barriers for students living with disabilities. Standardised assistance and opportunities for these students were further enabled by the review and approval of guiding policy documentation during 2021.

Council approved the Policy on Students Living with Disabilities, Gender-Based Violence Policy and the Transformation Charter. We also improved several guiding documents and processes that further enable the transformation of the student environment.

Student Life and People and Culture collaborated in the successful review of the guiding values of the university and contributed further to the understanding of both staff and students on these values and associated valuesdriven behaviours.

In 2021, our staff participated in various sectoral transformation initiatives. These included the 2nd Higher Education Conference themed: “The Engaged University.” Participation in such events helps ensure that the NWU's senior management are attuned to transformation trends across the higher education sector.

Pursuing and enabling equity

We regard transformation synonymous with justice, culture, performance indicators, communal well-being, excellence and relevance.

Transformation is also about being responsive to environmental and political changes, and being relevant to the needs of the communities we serve.

Approved by Council in September 2020, the 2021- 2023 Employment Equity Plan gives expression to the Employment Equity Policy, which ensures that the university creates equal opportunities for all employees and prospective employees.

Council resolved that, in order to accelerate the pace of transformation, the following targets will be incorporated into the new Employment Equity Plan:

• Appointment of black employees: 70% (at least)
• Appointment of people living with disabilities: 2%

Targets have been incorporated into the university's APP and cascaded to individual performance agreements.

All individual performance agreements for line managers have been redesigned to incorporate the people management key-performance area (KPA) for managing employment equity, diversity and promoting the preferred NWU culture.

Academic transformation

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to stimulate new responses in the transformation of teaching-learning.

Although we continued to rely on online teaching and learning in 2021, students began returning to our campuses. Contact teaching resumed in phases, starting with programmes where contact delivery was necessary for laboratory, workshop or internship work or to comply with the requirements of regulatory bodies.

By the end of the year, all students had been invited to return to our campuses.

We also commenced the language audit and survey process associated with the review of our Language Policy. The Language Directorate provided support by translating materials and offering online assistance with interpreting. The latter was introduced to meet pandemic conditions and we look forward to a more normalised offering as the pandemic recedes.

In another positive step for academic transformation, we finalised the content areas for the Short Learning Programme in Sesotho.

Aspects of transformation were highlighted during the three major cross-curricular themed weeks that we hosted during the year on topical issues in society and university.

Race Awareness Week was held in April 2021 and attracted record numbers of participants. Gender Awareness Week took place in August, focusing on women and science. Finally, Language Awareness Week was held in September and dealt with language diversity and celebrated the multilingual and creative contributions of students and staff.

Recognising the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on teaching-learning, the university approved an internal quality review of assessment (known as Cov-ARC). All faculties participated across a range of postgraduate and undergraduate programmes, and staff and students were invited.

Looking ahead

Although we continue to make significant progress in our transformation trajectory, there is a lot more to be done.

We believe we are up to the challenge. Our primary motivation for continuing and accelerating our transformation journey, is that it is the right thing to do and it accords with our values.

We stay committed to further building our unitary institution, establishing an institutional culture and a unique NWU way of life that supports our strategy and speaks of care, equality and fairness for all. That is why transformation will stay high on our future agenda.

MR BERT SORGDRAGER
CHAIRPERSON OF COUNCIL

DR BISMARK TYOBEKA
VICE-CHANCELLOR