The South African Council on Higher Education (CHE) is an independent statutory body responsible for advising the Minister of Higher Education and Training on all higher education policy issues, and for quality assurance in higher education and training.
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The Council on Higher Education (CHE) has one permanent committee, the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC). The CHE's statutory responsibility for the promotion and assurance of quality in higher education is carried out by the HEQC.
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The Office of the Chief Executive Officer and the Advice and Monitoring Directorate are responsible for giving effect to the CHE responsibilities in the areas of advice, monitoring and the development of higher education.
The Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) has executive responsibility for quality promotion and quality assurance in higher education.
The HEQC has four directorates:
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Institutional Audits Directorate -
responsible for conducting audits of public and private higher education institutions' systems for ensuring good quality of provision in the three core functions of teaching and learning, research and community engagement.
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National Reviews Directorate - responsible for re-accrediting existing programmes in specific disciplines and/or qualification areas.
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Programme Accreditation Directorate - responsible for accrediting the learning programmes of public and private higher education institutions.
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Quality Promotion and Capacity Development Directorate -
responsible for implementing the HEQC's quality promotion and capacity development programme which disseminates information and knowledge about quality assurance, and prepares individuals and institutions to participate in implementing the HEQC's quality assurance system.
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HEQC-online is a web-based accreditation application system that
allows public and private higher education providers to submit applications for accreditation online.
HEQC-online is available at: http://heqc-online.che.ac.za
 HEQC-online accreditation system: Instructions for external users (689Kb ~ 4 min)
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This announcement is made in appreciation of Dr Cheryl De La Rey's contribution to the CHE
Dr Cheryl de la Rey resigned as CEO of the CHE to take up the post of Principal and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Pretoria from 9 November 2009.
Dr De la Rey joined the CHE in May 2008. Her knowledge of higher education, her management experience and energetic approach made a marked difference to the functioning of the CHE. Under her leadership, the advisory function was reinvigorated, several long-standing projects were brought to conclusion, new projects were initiated and the CHE purchased its own building.
The CHE wishes Dr De la Rey all of the best with her new endeavours.
The Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Prof. Rolf Stumpf as interim CEO of the CHE
Following Dr De la Rey's departure from the CHE on 5 November 2010, and in accordance with effective transitional arrangements, the Council appointed Prof. Rolf Stumpf as Interim CEO of the CHE with effect from 4 January 2010 until a new CEO has been appointed. Prof. Stumpf assumed his responsibilities as CEO at the beginning of January.
Prof. Stumpf is well known in the higher education sector. He is also known at the CHE for his many years of involvement in the CHE's quality assurance function and is currently the chairperson of the HEQC Board. Prior to that he was a member of the CHE's audit committee.
Council considers Prof Stumpf a suitable interim CEO because of his substantial academic credentials, his strategic competence and ability to fulfill a leadership role as shown by him during his tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the former UPE and later of the NMMU. He will be expected to take full responsibility for the governance of the CHE.
The Council wishes to express its appreciation to Prof. Stump for agreeing to serve as the Interim CEO.
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LLB Curriculum Project
The CHE is undertaking research to investigate the effectiveness of the LLB degree in South Africa. The LLB Curriculum Project will investigate what law graduates learn during their studies and the extent to which they are prepared for their different professional career paths. This study will also provide an opportunity to assess the impact of changes made to the LLB curriculum since 1998, particularly the introduction of the 4-year undergraduate LLB.
The project includes reviews of research into law education, interviews with key stakeholders and a large-scale electronic survey of law professionals, employers and academics in university Law faculties. The electronic survey will take place in early 2010 and the results of the research are expected to be announced in the second half of 2010.
Individuals and organisations that have an interest in legal education and the Project can register by clicking here.
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Communiqué No 3: Council on Higher Education (CHE), Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET) and South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)
This communiqué is the third of a series that aims to inform the South African higher education community of steps being taken to prepare the higher education system for the full implementation of the Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQF). The communiqué deals with interim measures relating to the processing of applications for new programmes and the renaming of existing programmes.
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First learner records loaded into the Higher Education Quality Committee Information System (HEQCIS)
The first learner records, from a private higher education institution, Christ Baptist Church Seminary, were loaded into the HEQCIS database on Friday the 10th April 2009. This means that the HEQCIS system, which will collect information about enrolments and qualifications awarded at private higher education institutions is now fully operational.
The HEQCIS system has been developed by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), in conjunction with Praxis Computing, on behalf of the Council on Higher Education (CHE). When it is fully populated, the HEQCIS system will provide the CHE with accurate information about the learners enrolled in private higher education institutions and the qualifications awarded. For institutions, the benefits of contributing to the system are that qualification achievements will be added to the National Learners' Records Database (NLRD) at SAQA and their students will be able to have their qualifications independently verified.
Kirstin Barth, project manager at Praxis Computing said that during the first successful load, 77 learner records and 77 qualification enrolment/achievement records were created. Chris Wren, the Seminary Administrator, at Christ Baptist Church Seminary worked closely with the HEQCIS team over a period of four months to prepare their data submission.
HEQCIS manager, Phuti Semenya says that to date 24 institutions have completed the qualification template which has to be verified before learner records can be loaded and 10 institutions have been invited to load learner data. For more information about the HEQCIS system, e-mail heqcis@che.ac.za or visit the HEQCIS section of our website www.che.ac.za/heqcisinfo/.
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To request printed copies of CHE publications, please contact the librarian
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