The Higher Education Act makes provision for a Council chairperson, thirteen ordinary members, a maximum of three co-opted members and six non-voting members. The Minister of Education appoints the members of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) following a call for nominations from higher education stakeholders and the general public.

Members are appointed for a four year period, and the chairperson for five years. The members of the CHE are appointed in their own right as people with specialist knowledge and expertise in higher education matters. Although the members are drawn from various constituencies, the CHE functions as an independent expert statutory body and not as a body of representatives of organisations, institutions or constituencies.

Members of the Council on Higher Education 2006-2010

Council members
Prof. NC Manganyi (Chairperson)	Independent Consultant
Ms L Abrahams	Director: Learning Information Networking Knowledge (LINK)
Prof. Y Ballim	Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic): University of the Witwatersrand
Prof. SF Coetzee	Executive Director: Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut (AHI)
Prof. M Fourie	Vice Rector (Teaching): University of Stellenbosch
Dr F Ginwala	Independent Consultant
Mr R Katz	Chief Executive Officer: Spirit Power
Dr AM Perez	Deputy Dean (Faculty of Health Sciences): University of Cape Town
Prof. SJ Saunders	Senior Adviser: Andrew W Mellon Foundation
Ms N Mayende-Sibiya	President: National Education Health & Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU)
Mr V van Vuuren	Chief Operating Officer: Business Unity South Africa (BUSA)
Non-voting members
Mr L Mphahlele	Acting General Manager (Science Missions and Human Capital): Department of Science and Technology (DST)
Mr SBA Isaacs	Executive Officer: South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)
Prof. A Kaniki	Executive Director: National Research Foundation (NRF)
Dr M Qhobela	Deputy Director General (Higher Education): Department of Education (DoE)
Co-opted Members
Prof. H Africa (for the period 2006–2008)	Independent Consultant
Ms J Glennie (for the period 2006–2010)	Director: South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE)
Dr W Rowland (for the period 2006-2009)	Honorary President: South African National Council for the Blind (SANCB) Chief Executive Officer: Thabo Mbeki Development Trust for Disabled People (TMDT)
Ex-Officio members
Dr C de la Rey	Chief Executive Officer: Council on Higher Education (CHE)
Dr L Lange	Executive Director: Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC)

Members of the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) Board

The HEQC has its own Board with two members of the CHE Council on it. HEQC members are chosen by the CHE on the basis of nominations from interested parties in higher education.

All HEQC members are appointed in their own right for a three to four year period. Board members bring expertise from different stakeholder domains. The current Board was constituted in April 2005, and is made up of the following people:

Board members
Prof. H Africa Chairperson: HEQC Member of the Council of the CHE	Mr M Cele Deputy Director Research (Director General Office): Department of Science and Technology (DST)
Ms J Favish Director (Institutional Planning): University of Cape Town	Prof. D Gihwala Dean of Science: Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Ms J Glennie Director: South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) Member of the Council of the CHE	Prof. H Hanrahan Professor (Communications Engineering): University of the Witwatersrand
Prof. D Mogari Associate Professor (Institute for Science and Technology Education): University of South Africa (UNISA)	Dr M Motshekga-Sebolai Academic Director: PC Training and Business College
Dr P Naves Director (Human Capital): South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)	Prof. RH Stumpf Consultant
Dr N Takalo Vice Principal: North-West University	Mr T Yako Provincial Manager: Western Cape, Police And Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU)
Prof. C Sehoole Chief Director (Higher Education Planning and Management): Department of Education (DoE)
Co-opted members
Ms S Jawoodeen Regional Secretary (Ikapa Metropole Region): National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU)	Ms N Nxesi Chief Executive Officer: Education Training Development Practices (ETDP) SETA
Ex-Officio members
Dr C de la Rey Chief Executive Officer: Council on Higher Education (CHE)	Dr L Lange Executive Director: HEQC
Ms E Rabie