Our vice-chancellor’s review

Introduction: Looking at 2023

In our strive towards greatness, the NWU started exploring possibilities beyond its traditional boundaries. It was now time to review the strategic plan (2015-2025) that had been propelling our efforts up to now.

Council approved the new strategy – Taking the NWU Forward 2024 and beyond – in September 2023.

Developing the strategy was an iterative process involving extensive stakeholder engagements, ensuring we all move in the same direction in 2024 and beyond.

We conducted an external situation analysis to refine our understanding of the higher education structure and its competitive dynamics.

Equipped with a broad overview of social and demographic trends, future expectations of technological advancement and economic and environmental factors, as well as political developments, we were ready to move ahead in implementing the NWU strategy, and budgeting accordingly.

Our managerial and administrative activities

Next, we started the conversation about how “structure follows strategy”.

Tomorrow's workforce will need a broad set of skills, and this is what informs our approach to research and innovation, teaching and learning, and community engagement. Our managerial and administrative arrangements are geared at sustaining and supporting this core structure, the heart of which is the success of the academic programme.

After implementing phase one of the staff optimisation project early in 2023, we began implementing phase two.

We streamlined various processes and identified opportunities to improve our efficiencies, allowing us to allocate resources more effectively.

Implementing the Vice-Chancellor’s Special Dispensation Award was a milestone for staff optimisation as the award aims to contribute to realising our dream of an environment conducive to job satisfaction and enhanced overall morale.

We are now busy optimising administrative positions, which includes evaluating the position of longstanding vacancies. In 2024, the NWU will implement the third phase of staff optimisation.

Adequacy of staffing levels, particularly in critical areas

The staff optimisation project will ensure we have the best possible staffing levels and mechanisms to increase productivity. The rationale is to have optimal staffing levels with enhanced renumeration and benefits.

In 2023, the total staff headcount stood at 11 523, up from 10 762 in 2022.

Staff numbers increased in the academic environment (see the staff headcount table). Our support cohort decreased with 285 employees – from 8 301 in 2022, to 8 016 in 2023.

There was an increase of 1 046 in our academic staff, which grew from 2 461 in 2022, to 3 507 in 2023. We are aware that budget cuts are on the horizon for the sector, which is sure to affect future staffing levels.

Our cost-mitigation plan seeks to mitigate the impact of the sectoral budget cuts, protecting our core business and ensuring the university remains academically and financially viable.

Since we had to reprioritise our budget and optimise our staff-cost budget, only mission-critical positions were filled in 2023.

Total staff headcount – 2021 vs 2022
Classification	Permanent		Temporary			Total
	2022	2023	2022	2023	2022	2023
Academic	1 678	1 692	783	1815	2 461	3 507
Support	2 550	2544	5 751	5472	8 301	8 016
Grand total	4 228	4 236	6 534	7 287	10 762	11 523

The overall attrition rate is 7,96%, well within our target of keeping attrition below 10%.

Realising equity targets in the workplace

Employment equity targets are closely monitored. The Council committees responsible for this are the People and Culture and Employment Equity Committee and the Transformation Oversight Committee.

Our current employment equity plan runs from January 2021 to December 2023. The targets and outcomes for 2023 are shown in the following table.

Race	2023 Target		% Total	31 December 2023 Actuals		31 December 2023 % Total	Difference	Target Achieved Y/N
	Male	Female		Male	Female
African	21,41%	20,15%	41,56%	21,34%	21,76%	43,10%	-1,54%	Y
Coloured	3,27%	4,10%	7,37%	3,08%	4,13%	7,21%	0,16%	N
Indian	0,85%	1,10%	1,95%	0,78%	0,88%	1,65%	0,29%	N
White	18,04%	29,97%	48,02%	17,41%	28,32%	45,73%	2,29%	Y
Foreign nationals	0,89%	0,21%	1,10%	1,83%	0,48%	2,30%	-1,20%	N
	44,56%	55,44%	100,00%	44,1%	55,9%	100,00%	0,00%

When filling vacancies, we focus on achieving representivity. However, cost containment means we have had fewer vacancies to fill, negatively affecting our ability to reach the employment equity targets.

Even so, we achieved the 2023 employment equity targets for Africans, mainly because any appointments from non‑designated groups were limited to cases approved by the vice‑chancellor.

Other strategies to improve representation were:

• removing barriers in attracting people from the designated groups and people living with disabilities
• succession planning for key positions
• retention strategies
• establishing an enabling organisational culture

As 2023 was the last year of the current employment equity plan, we developed the Successive Employment Equity Plan for 2024-2026. Council approved this in November 2023.

The quality of information available to management

The Strategic Intelligence department at the NWU has consciously shifted from generating static data reports to creating dynamic information tools.

This strategic move is designed to empower stakeholders with interactive data experiences, enabling them to delve into the nuances of the data and extract the insights most relevant to their needs.

Our short-term goal is to design and execute a revamped data warehouse architecture that provides the flexibility needed to incorporate varying business rules arising from new enterprise resource planning systems. These include the updated Student Information System and the upcoming Learner Management System.

Our longer-term goal is to expand our data architecture to include additional data sources, such as the new Student Information System and to investigate the possibility of including an external data source such as LinkedIn.

Student services and co-curricular activities

The co-curricular programme continues to grow on the three campuses of the university, with an increased uptake in demand for participation in arts and culture, sports, community engagement and student leadership initiatives.

Post-pandemic, technology has remained an integral part of our co-curricular programme and services rendered to students. However, the preference to engage and interact in-person remains the primary choice, augmented by technology.

Campus Health Care Centres (CHCCs) continued to render primary healthcare services to students.

Social welfare programmes such as the Meal-a-Day programme remained under pressure amid constrained socio-economic circumstances. While smaller initiatives have emerged at campus level to assist pockets of students within specific environments, there is a pressing need for a longer-term, sustainable social welfare programme.

In supporting pregnant students to successfully complete their academic programmes, we ensure a student-centric approach by adopting the Rules and Guidelines on the Support and Accommodation of Pregnant Students.

The reach of psycho-social services within the student community was expanded to include 250 peer helpers in university residences, faculties and the general student community. This network of peer helpers is a core driver of psycho-social referrals to professional counselling.

On 13 November 2023, the NWU hosted the Higher Health Gender-based Violence and Femicide Assembly.

Co-curricular arts, sports and social engagement programmes were active at campus level throughout 2023.

The Potchefstroom Campus choir completed their “This is Why We Sing” tour in Europe, and the NWU Eagles (our senior rugby team) and the NWU Young Guns (our junior team) were crowned Varsity Cup champions for 2023.

Our bodybuilding team won the University Sport South Africa (USSA) championship, and both our NWU Eagles teams won their tennis divisions at the 2023 USSA Tournament.

Approximately 1 100 student leaders were active within the university’s various student leadership structures, including the Student Representative Council, Student Campus Councils, residence house committees, day house committees and academic chapters.

Student leaders also participated in Council, Senate, Faculty and support services committees and forums.

The Student Leadership Academy was officially launched during the inaugural annual NWU Student Leadership Summit on 6 October 2023.

Post-pandemic, the 2023 orientation programme for registered first-year students was again presented in a face-to-face format. Through this programme, students were introduced to university life.

To read more about our academic support activities for students, turn to the section on how we create value through our performance.

Changing patterns in the provision of academic courses

Our strategy is to enrol more students in the fields of science, engineering, technology and commerce, and we are making steady progress in delivering on this.

In total, 55 486 students were enrolled at our three campuses in 2023. Female enrolments increased from 34 051 to 35 033, while male enrolments, at 20 153, showed a slight increase from 20 124 in 2022.

The number of students enrolled in the distance programmes stabilised (8 888 in 2022 and 8 900 in 2023).

We formed a task team in 2023 to investigate various options for distance education offerings. The task team’s plan will be submitted to university management structures in 2024.

New programmes rolled out in 2024

Twelve new qualifications/programmes that did not require external approval where prepared for inclusion in the 2024 yearbooks.

No fewer than four of these were MSc degrees in nutrition, while three were MSc qualifications in different aspects of agriculture. There were also two new postgraduate diplomas in industrial engineering with sustainability, and two education qualifications (an MEd and a PhD) with language education. Full details of all these programmes can be viewed here.

The Council for Higher Education (CHE) and/or South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) accredited or registered four new qualifications and programmes in 2023. Two of these concern early childhood care and education (a BEd and a diploma), while the other two, both postgraduate diplomas, focus on health services management and nursing education.

Eight new qualifications and programmes were developed and internally approved in 2023 and are still being externally approved. The full list can be viewed here.

Programme and Qualifications (PQM) Review Project

We also continued with the PQM Review Project to critically re-examine the NWU’s programme offering and ensure it remains relevant, viable and meets the demands of the 21st century world of work.

Data analysis was conducted to determine where credit overloads and programme overlaps required urgent attention. A decision was taken at the end of 2023 to recalibrate the goals and outcomes in the for the short, medium and long term. The NWU applied for University Capacity Development Grant funding to complete the project.

Self-assessment of our achievements

Our intention to work through partnerships was realised in 2023, when we had close collaborations with partners in local and provincial government.

These collaborations included the 100 graduates programme with the North West Provincial Government, where 100 of the NWU unemployed graduates were posted to various municipalities.

Another notable partnership with provincial government stakeholders was the NWU’s inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Science Day on 31 July, which 2 000 learners attended.

Other notable achievements:

• The School of Accounting Sciences at the NWU received accreditation from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) for two of its accounting programmes: the BCom in financial accountancy and the extended BCom in financial accountancy. The NWU was one of only two universities in South Africa to have achieved this.
• In the 2023 rankings of the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, the NWU was ranked in the category for the top five to seven South African universities.

For the past four years, the NWU has been positioning itself as “pioneers and innovators in the area of enabling technologies”. Our Digital Business Strategy (DBS) gained strong momentum, as exemplified by the following initiatives:

• The Student Information System (SIS), which will see full implementation in February 2024, strategically using 4IR technologies to transform the NWU institutional culture towards a future-fit organisation.
• The revamping of the Learning Management System to provide students with a more responsive, accessible and supportive learning experience.

In 2023, we had to deal with challenges in government funding, particularly the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). We experienced a 5,3% decline in the NSFAS budget allocation for 2024 and a 0,9% reduction in the subsidy block grant budget allocation. In response, we are strengthening our third and fifth stream income.

Lastly, the 2023 graduation season saw 12 358 students graduating. Among these are 9 321 undergraduates, 750 master’s graduates, 277 PhDs and 2 183 distance learning graduates.

Looking to the future

Key strategic projects were initiated in 2023, some of which will impact on managerial and administrative activities of the university. The projects are in progress and expected to gain momentum in 2024 and will be fully reported on in due course.

Important milestones reached regarding these initiatives in 2023 were:

• the commencement of benchmarking and stakeholder engagement to ascertain the viability of the NWU becoming a future hub for short learning programmes in small-scale and artisanal mining, as well as sustainable mining solutions;
• the creation of NWU Enterprises as a wholly owned subsidiary with the capacity to deliver a substantial, growing portfolio of directed research, consultancy and derivative commercial activity; and
• the NWU receiving government approval to proceed with our plans to establish the NWU Medical School. Together with the Provincial Government, the Faculty of Health Sciences and relevant stakeholders are working in earnest to make the NWU Medical School a reality, ready to open our doors to the first intake of students in the foreseeable future.

PROF BISMARK TYOBEKA

CHAIRPERSON OF SENATE