Governance

GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES OF THE NWU

Council

The Council governs the NWU through the adoption of purpose and value statements, strategic plans and policies, as well as the Statute, the rules, processes and delegations of authority. Furthermore, Council monitors the operational performance of management and establishes committees and, together with Senate, joint committees, to ensure that the NWU achieves its purpose and values.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee deals with important governance matters between meetings of the NWU Council and acts as a Council membership committee.

People and Culture and Employment Equity Committee

The People and Culture and Employment Equity Committee advises Council on all matters relating to people and culture (human resources) and employment equity.

Extended Executive Committee

The Extended Executive Committee discusses high-level issues, monitors the relevance and responsiveness of the NWU Quality Manual, monitors the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of Council action plans formulated in response to internal and external evaluations, and serves as monitoring and evaluation platform for implementation of Council resolutions.

Remuneration Committee

The Remuneration Committee assists Council in carrying out its responsibilities regarding a fair and responsible remuneration philosophy and its implementation.

Transformation Oversight Committee

The Transformation Oversight Committee advises Council on the implementation of the transformational aspects of the Annual Performance Plan.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee advises Council on financial and investment matters and on longterm infrastructure development at the NWU (also through obtaining specialist advice from the Assets and Investment subcommittees).

Student Housing Committee

The Student Housing Committee provides strategic direction, governance and oversight in regard to the relevant functions of the committee, particularly as this pertains to the provisioning of student housing in university-owned and university-leased facilities, as well as privately owned and university-accredited facilities.

Student Life Oversight Committee

The Student Life Oversight Committee advises Council on all relevant student matters and steers the strategic direction towards inculcating a unified and integrated student-life culture across NWU campuses characterised by optimal integration of student activities aimed at inclusivity and embracing multiculturalism and diversity.

Tender Committee

The Tender Committee advises the Council on matters related to governance and oversight as these pertain to the NWU’s procurement processes and ensures that these are fair, equitable, transparent, costeffective and compliant to all relevant regulations and rules.

Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee

The Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee advises Council on the safeguarding of the NWU’s assets, the maintenance of adequate accounting records, the development and maintenance of an effective system of internal control, overseeing management’s role in creating and maintaining a proper risk management process, and authorising the annual audit fee for the external auditors. It also provides a channel of communication between Council, management, the internal audit function and the external auditors.

Social and Ethics Committee

The Social and Ethics Committee provides oversight and guidance in assisting Council to develop an understanding of management and oversight about the positioning of the NWU as an integral part of the society in which it functions.

Technology and Information Governance Committee

The Technology and Information Governance Committee assists Council with the governance of all information and technology aspects at the NWU.

Honorary Awards Committee

The Honorary Awards Committee acts as a selection committee that screens and considers awards by the NWU, including honorary degrees, chancellor’s medals, honorary naming or any other awards by means of which persons or entities are honoured, with the purpose of recommending such awards to Council.

Human Rights Committee

The Human Rights Committee advises the Council on various matters pertaining to human rights and social justice. This includes advocacy efforts related to human rights, such as addressing incidents of gender-based violence, racism, intolerance and discrimination.

Institutional Forum

The Institutional Forum advises Council on the implementation of the Higher Education Act and national higher education policies, as well as on the fostering of a university culture that promotes tolerance, respect for human rights and an environment conducive to learning, teaching and research.

Senate

The Senate is responsible for regulating all teaching-learning, research and academic support functions, as well as for determining academic policies and rules.

Student Representative Council

The Student Representative Council is the duly elected body within Student Life that oversees the management of organised student life and represents students on various governance structures.

Board of Donors

Convocation

The Convocation is the body of alumni that is constituted with the aim of creating a link between the university and its corps of alumni. It also designates four members to serve on Council.

Quality Manual

The Council Quality Manual remained unchanged in 2024, having been revised in June 2023. It is based on the norms prescribed by the DHET Governance Scorecard.

The manual documents all aspects of achieving, sustaining, monitoring and quality-enhancing all levels of activity of the NWU Council, including benchmarking, monitoring mechanisms and risk identification.

COUNCIL STATEMENT ON SUSTAINABILITY AS VALUE ADD

At the NWU we define sustainability as the ability of the university to create value in the short, medium and long term by promoting stakeholder-inclusive approaches to developing a strategic response to the risks and opportunities faced. We consider material matters, whether financial or non-financial in nature.

Material matters of a social and environmental nature are as important as financial and economic issues in determining the overall value created by the NWU.

The NWU 2024 and beyond strategy is integral to the value-creation process and to ensuring our sustainability. Our vision is to discover new frontiers and opportunities to benefit society, advancing our relevance and impact, and our mission affirms our commitment to this through the provision of knowledge, excelling in innovative teaching and cutting-edge engagement with the community.

COUNCIL STATEMENT ON ETHICS AND VALUES

The NWU Code of Ethics commits the university to the highest standards of integrity, behaviour and ethics in dealing with all its stakeholders and society at large.

The Ethics Policy approved in June 2024 provides a governance framework to enable the highest standards of integrity in service of the role that NWU must fulfil as a socially responsible corporate citizen and binds all its members, namely members of governing structures, all staff and all students.

We seek to mainstream operations relevant for ethical leadership and corporate citizenship across the university.

Ongoing oversight is essential in creating an environment where unethical practices of any kind can be prevented and detected. In 2024, the Social and Ethics Committee and the ARCC fulfilled this oversight role.

The NWU has a comprehensive set of policies, as well as a Code of Ethics, aimed at instilling an ethical leadership culture and strengthening the NWU’s position as a good corporate citizen.

Click here for the full list of policies.

The university’s ethics management plan has three strategic focal areas, as shown in the daigram below.

Strategic focal area 1:

Governance and management
commitment to ethics

Here, we focus on the extent to which Council and all levels of management are visibly committed to good ethical conduct; support employees to make better ethical decisions; fairly and consistently enforce policies, rules and procedures; and visibly serve as role models of ethical behaviour.

Strategic focal area 2:

Ethics
accountability

We put the right structures and reporting in place to facilitate the governance and management of ethics, develop clear, enforceable policies and ensure ethical risks receive attention at both management and governance levels.

Employees at every level are expected to adhere to policies, procedures and frameworks.

We see to it that employees and students are protected from victimisation when reporting on ethics matters.

Strategic focal area 3:

Ethics talk
and awareness

Employees receive ethics training so that they know what is expected of them when it comes to ethical behaviour.

They are guided to speak openly about ethics, ethical dilemmas and challenges, and encouraged address ethical concerns with peers and leadership.

BEHAVIOURAL MANUAL FOR STAFF

The NWU Behavioural Manual is used to regulate employee conduct and became effective on 1 January 2024.

MATTERS DEALT WITH IN 2024

Disciplinary actions were taken against 34 NWU employees who were charged with misconduct. Some of these employees faced more than one allegation, resulting in a total of 59 transgressions for the year.

The services of 13 employees were summarily terminated after a disciplinary process. Two employees resigned before the finalisation of their cases. A total of 16 matters were referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). Of these, 11 matters were finalised and five are still ongoing.

OMBUD OFFICE FOR LANGUAGE

The Language Directorate seeks to resolve language matters before they can escalate.

The directorate has an ombudsperson who investigates, resolves and reports on language queries or complaints.

There was a noticeable increase in language‑related inquiries and complaints in 2024. All of these were investigated and effectively resolved. Clear guidance was given, focusing on inclusivity, diversity and a commitment to ethical principles.

DEALING WITH SEXUAL HARASSMENT

The NWU is committed to creating a safe working environment free from the fear of sexual harassment.

Two allegations of sexual harassment cases were reported in 2024; upon investigation it became apparent that one matter was not sexual harassment. The employee concerned went through the disciplinary process and was found not guilty.

MATTERS REPORTED BY EMPLOYEES OR THE PUBLIC

The NWU has a dedicated fraud reporting weblink with an electronic reporting procedure and a dedicated email address (report-fraud@ nwu.ac.za). This weblink is accessible to members of the public, students and/or employees to report incidents. Employees can refer queries or concerns directly to Internal Audit or use the reporting boxes on campuses.

Click here for details on the NWU’s investigation register and the protection of whistleblowers.

CASES DEALT WITH DURING 2024

The total number of reported cases stood at 51 in 2024. Of these, 21 investigations were concluded, 20 are still ongoing and 10 have been referred to a forensic firm for further examination.

These matters entailed fraudulently altering documentation such as invoices/quotations, favouritism due to potential conflicts of interest, tender and admission irregularities, general misuse of NWU resources, fraudulent payments to suppliers/employees, cover quoting by suppliers, corruption, cybercrimes targeting students and employees, forgery and uttering, bribery, admission scams and mismanagement of NWU assets/funds.

FIGHTING FRAUD AND CORRUPTION

The NWU has an Anti-fraud Strategy and policies on the prevention of bribery, corruption and fraud, as well as the protection of whistleblowers.

In November 2024, during International Fraud Awareness Week, Internal Audit presented fraud awareness sessions in collaboration with the SAPS’s Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations and an external forensic firm.

Internal Audit used automated systems to continuously monitor procurement and payroll transactions, and to screen for potential conflicts of interest.

SAPS CASES DEALT WITH DURING 2024

We handed over seven cases of fraud, forgery and uttering and misappropriation of resources to the SAPS. One of these cases has been successfully concluded, resulting in the recovery of R86 785.

COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS, CODES AND STANDARDS

There are 139 laws and regulations with which the NWU must comply. We do compliance self-assessments and monitoring according to a three-year rolling plan.

More information on this can be found here.

In 2024, we assessed our compliance with 42 acts, compared to 25 in the previous year.

Click here for the full list.

COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT (PAIA) AND PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION ACT (POPIA)

The NWU is committed to complying with the PAIA of 2000 and the POPIA of 2013.

The Section 32 PAIA report was submitted to the Information Regulator in June 2024, together with our PAIA manual in three official languages. The Information Regulator issued a registration certificate to the NWU’s information officer on 24 June 2024.

In 2024, the NWU received 56 PAIA requests. Of these, 39 were granted in full, 11 were refused in full and six were partially refused.

POPIA training has been developed and implemented online, and an attendance monitoring system is in place.

PROVIDING INTEGRATED ASSURANCE

The NWU has a Combined Assurance Forum (CAF) to advise on the establishment of an adequate and effective control environment, ensure the integrity of reports and establish an assurance model.

In 2024, the CAF provided assurance to Council that the university’s risk management, risk control and governance processes are adequately addressed. CAF also addressed management concerns about the processes for managing risks.

More information on risk management can be found here.

HUMAN RIGHTS MATTERS

In 2024, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) conducted training for student leaders on human rights-related matters. These included the mandate of the SAHRC, the Social Media Charter, the Equality Act, unfair discrimination, hate speech, harassment and the procedures in equality courts. Plans to extend the training to the broader student population were discussed.

The NWU participated in World Mental Health Day activities in Schweizer-Reneke on 10 October 2024. The link between mental health illness and gender-based violence (GBV) and substance abuse was addressed.

The university’s Human Rights Committee (HRC) highlighted the need to address xenophobia through awareness and education. The HRC also draw attention to the topic of digital privacy as a critical issue for students, particularly regarding social media use and cyber bullying.

The HRC discussed alleged human rights violations cases dealt with by Employee Relations and Student Judicial Services. Many of these cases were not deemed to be human rights violations because, on investigation, it was found they were either related to employee relations or were administrative complaints.

The HRC developed criteria on human rights Infringements, including violation of dignity, discrimination and equality, harassment and intimidation, infringement of freedom of expression, and so on.

For a full list of these categories, click here.

COUNCIL STATEMENT ON TENDERS

The NWU requests tenders from the market for all purchases of goods and services with a total contract value exceeding R250 000.

Tenders are evaluated and approved strictly in line with tender policies and procedures and within approved authorisation mandates, with a focus on fairness and transparency.

The tender document forms the basis of the envisaged supply agreement, and the standard template was therefore checked and approved by the Legal Services Department of the NWU.

The evaluation criteria as specified in the tender document are:

for tenders with a total contract value of less than R1,5 million, 80% is awarded for price and 20% for the level of BBBEE; and
for tenders with a total contract value exceeding R1,5 million, 90% is awarded for price and 10% for the level of BBBEE.

Council has mandated the Tender Committee to consider and approve tenders with a total contract value of between R15 million and R50 million. For tenders with a total contract value exceeding R50 million, the Tender Committee will consider the tenders received and make a recommendation to Council for approval.

COUNCIL STATEMENT ON GOING CONCERN

We can confirm that the NWU is considered a going concern now and in the foreseeable future.

COUNCIL STATEMENT ON FINANCIAL CONTROLS OUTSIDE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Internal controls and administrative systems, which have been designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the integrity of the financial statements and that assets have been protected and transactions carried out in terms of the university’s policies and procedures, are in place and are properly maintained on a cost-effective basis.

COUNCIL STATEMENT ON FINANCIAL HEALTH AND VIABILITY

As a tertiary institution with the core business of teaching-learning, research and community engagement, the NWU again added material value to the economy and was able to achieve its financial goals in 2024. In this regard the following can be highlighted:

NWU still provides affordable higher education.
13 563 students received degrees and diplomas during 2024.
We contributed R281 million (2023: R250 million) for student bursaries, which is 7% of the total funds allocated for financial aid.
R46,8 million (16%) of the funds allocated to financial aid were awarded to students on the basis of academic performance.
Over R526 million was spent on capital works, planned maintenance and minor works across the three campuses.
The total expenditure from the DHET Infrastructure Efficiency Grant was R80 473 401, with the bulk (R66 287 479) spent on the 2018/21 funding cycle. Eight projects from that cycle have been completed, and the remaining four are set to finish in 2025 during the fifth cycle. These include infrastructure developments on all three campuses, such as the Psychosocial building in Vanderbijlpark, education laboratories in Potchefstroom, and PABX and fire alarm system upgrades. For the 2023 funding cycle, there were 10 projects; two have been completed (eFundi storage and a learning records store), while the remaining eight are progressing well, with seven scheduled for completion in 2025.
Student housing on or near the three campuses consisted of 48 university-owned residences and four leased accommodation facilities operated as formal residences. These facilities had the capacity to accommodate 12 904 students. We ensure that residence fees are appropriate and affordable, and that all residences comply with the national policy on minimum norms and standards for public universities in South Africa.
A sound solvency position and optimal liquidity levels were maintained during the 2024 financial year to ensure that the NWU remains a going concern.
Council and Management are committed to maintaining the university’s financial health, despite dependency on state subsidies and tuition fee-related income, with the latter income totalling 70,6% of turnover (2023: 71,1% and 2022: 76,2%). The increase in NSFAS-funded students highlights this dependency. The NWU’s financial results from recent years provide a solid foundation for navigating future uncertainties and challenges.
A total surplus of R930,6 million (excluding other comprehensive income of R81,1 million) for 2024 is reflected in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income.

STATEMENT ON PENALTIES, SANCTIONS AND FINES

The NWU has no material regulatory penalties, sanctions or fines for contraventions or non-compliance with statutory obligations to disclose.

COUNCIL STATEMENT ON CONTRACT MANAGEMENT, SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS AND MONITORING OF SUPPLIERS’ PERFORMANCE

The NWU has a centralised procurement management structure that provides control and coordination without inhibiting evaluation, recommendation and authorisation powers in respect of procurement needs on a decentralised divisional level.

This authority is regulated by the Policy on Delegations and the Schedule of Financial and Contractual Authorisation Levels as approved by Council.

We continually strive to obtain the best value for money on each procurement transaction while not compromising the requirements of fair and transparent trade ethics.

We also strive to adhere to the standards as required by the Public Procurement Act, and our tender processes are strictly controlled and monitored by the internal and external audit functions.

We place a high value on obtaining the university’s requirements from BBBEE-qualified suppliers with a qualified BBBEE contribution exceeding 70%. The amended Preferential Procurement Strategy, which was approved during 2022, enables a much more focused approach to preferential procurement.

Contract management and service level agreements are decentralised to a divisional level, while problems with contracts and service delivery are referred to the Legal office for assistance.

MR BERT SORGDRAGER

CHAIRPERSON OF COUNCIL

The Institutional Forum’s 2024 report is available here.