The Durban University of Technology (DUT) hosted a Mock Institutional Audit from 13-17 March 2023 which involved staff, students, and the University’s wider community. The purpose of this key institutional initiative was regarded as a pre-Institutional Audit that the Council on Higher Education (CHE) will be conducting from 8 – 12 May 2023.
The goal of the Mock Audit was to ensure institutional preparedness. The intention of the Mock Audit was to replicate the processes of the actual Institutional Audit that the CHE will be conducting in May 2023. It also provided a hands-on opportunity to identify logistical strengths/weaknesses and better plan for the actual audit.
Universities undergo an Institutional Audit once every 5 years which is an external quality assurance mechanism to evaluate the coherence and effectiveness of an institution’s internal quality assurance system in enabling student success, and improving its core academic functions which are the learning and teaching, research, and community engagement.
The DUT community’s support, cooperation and engagement with the process was phenomenal and this contributed to the audit being a resounding success.
Panelists were selected from other universities to conduct the audit which involved examining the Self Evaluation Report submitted to CHE on the 31st of January 2023 and interviewing various stakeholders of the University community to validate and verify the statements made in the Self-Evaluation Report about the coherence and effectiveness of the DUT quality assurance system.
The seven external panel members are:
1. Dr Mark Hay, Independent consultant, Chairperson
2. Ms Emily Mabote Director of Quality Promotion at TUT, Vice Chairperson
3. Prof Thea Tselepis (Dr), UJ
4. Prof Berrington Ntombela, UL
5. Dr Nomalungelo I Ngubane, UFS
6. Mr Andre Muller (Stellenbosch), SU
7. Mrs Hannelie van Rensburg, UCT
The interview sessions included representatives from across the various sectors of the University, such as undergraduate students, postgraduate students, the SRC, academic staff, HoDs, Executive Deans, Research, Innovation and Engagement staff, institutional researchers, student support services, academic support and development centres, executive management, Council members, union representatives and other stakeholders.
Feedback from the Mock Audit will be used to further enhance our processes and to ensure preparedness of the DUT community for the actual CHE Institutional Audit in May 2023.
At the conclusion of the 5-day review process, an oral presentation was made to executive staff supported by a draft written report. The final report will be presented to DUT, shortly. The panel members made commendations, identified areas of good practice, identified areas that put the University at risk and made recommendations about areas requiring improvement. The Institutional Audit Working Group will be contacting the DUT community to obtain clarity on some of the issues that require attention. An improvement plan is being compiled, to address these issues in preparation for the institutional audit that will be conducted in May 2023.
Pictured: Site visit conducted by the panel.
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