The South African Council on Higher Education (CHE) is an independent statutory body with the responsibility to advise the Minister of Education on all matters related to higher education policy issues and quality assurance within higher education and training.
New Chief Executive Officer
The Council on Higher Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Cheryl de la Rey as its Chief Executive Officer, with effect from 1 May 2008.
Dr De la Rey is a graduate of the universities of Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) and Cape Town. Before joining the senior management team of the University of Cape Town as Deputy Vice Chancellor in 2002, Dr De la Rey was an Associate Professor of Psychology (UCT) and Executive Director: Research Promotion at the National Research Foundation.
The Council and staff of the CHE appreciate the fact that Dr De la Rey brings into her new position a considerable breadth of knowledge and experience with regard to the higher education sector policy environment as well as the related field of research support and promotion. Of equal significance is the fact that Dr De la Rey is an academic of standing in her own right having published work over the years in Psychology and in the domain of science and technology policy.
The CHE and the broader higher education community look forward to a new phase in the work of the Council under her leadership.
Memoranda of Understanding: TEC Botswana and Namibia Qualifications Authority
The Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) signs Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Tertiary Education Council (TEC) of Botswana and the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA).
At a ceremony held at the CHE offices in Pretoria on 9 October 2007, the HEQC formalised its longstanding relationships with the NQA and the TEC.
On 16 November 2007, the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) met with representatives of sixteen statutory professional councils, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the University of Pretoria. Under discussion were issues of coordination of quality assurance in higher education and the signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the HEQC and professional councils in the higher education band.
Accreditation Committee schedule of meetings for 2008
The Accreditation Committee, the subcommittee of the HEQC Board responsible for the accreditation of new programmes, has meetings on the following dates in 2008:
The CHE has developed a framework document which outlines the consequences and procedures associated with institutional choice and HEQC re-accreditation decisions. To view this document, click here.
The Higher Education Quality Committee has communicated the results of the process of re-accreditation of M Ed programmes to all higher education institutions who took part in the first part of the National Review of academic and professional programmes on education.
The CHE has established a Task Team to investigate the involvement of government and other agencies in South African Higher Education in the context of the principles of Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom and Public Accountability. The Task Team has called for and has received numerous submissions, and is currently issuing fresh calls for submissions from any stakeholder body or interest grouping. The Task Team has also commissioned research. As part of stimulating debate and further information gathering, it has held regional fora in six cities to allow members of the higher education community and stakeholders to discuss and debate these important issues.
Applications for accreditation can be submitted online. Institutions can submit applications for accreditation of programmes throughout the year, taking into account that the Accreditation Committee makes decisions five times a year.
The National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa
This Framework is designed to equip the teaching profession to meet the needs of a democratic South Africa in the 21st century. It deals with teachers in schools, and is not directed at teachers in adult education, early childhood development centres or Further Education and Training colleges.
Site visit manual for evaluator panels
This Manual is intended for the guidance of evaluator panels appointed by the HEQC to conduct institutional site visits which may be required as part of the accreditation process.
Community Engagement in Higher Education
Proceedings of the conference hosted by the HEQC and the Community-Higher Education-Service Partnerships (CHESP) Initiative of JET Education Services, September 2006.
Review of Higher Education in South Africa
The Review of Higher Education in South Africa is an edited collection of research papers which analyse key trends in higher education in the context of international developments including public funding, governance, ICTs, institutional culture, access by adult learners, and change in the higher education system.
CHE suppliers are selected from the supplier database list on a rotational basis according to their products and/or skills.
Go to the supplier registration / update page.
The HEQC is a sub-committee of the CHE, with the mandate to
promote quality assurance, audit quality assurance mechanisms and accredit programmes of higher education.
New Chief Executive Officer
HEQC-online instructions for external users (689Kb ~ 4 min)
