Page 32 - DUT Annual Report 2020

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DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY ANNUAL REPORT 2020
SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS
IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
The COVID-19 pandemic brought into sharp focus the risk to student success presented by existing inequities, exacerbated by the digital divide, as noted in the differing levels of digital access amongst both staff and students at DUT. Given the digital divide, the repositioning of digital and learning technologies from the margins to the centre of teaching and learning presented a challenging conundrum for the University, in common with most HEIs in developing countries.
The Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) provided leadership in preparing the University’s staff and students to engage in emergency multimodal learning, teaching and assessment by adopting a multi-pronged approach. This included a focus on the developing of expertise in the use of digital technologies and engagement with curriculum planning and implementation through staff development. This was a collaborative effort led by CELT and supported by many other departments and colleagues within the University and nationally. At the same time, student development initiatives included training in the use of the digital platforms adopted by the University and online psycho-social support through student development programmes.
Support in the use of digital technologies included Moodle training sessions, MS Teams training sessions and Microsoft MS Teams Webinars and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Further support was provided through a variety of resources and self-help guides and videos for staff and students. Simultaneously, the Curriculum Conversations series of workshops was facilitated by CELT to enable staff to interrogate their plans for redesigning curricula for multimodal engagements. The emphasis was on a programmatic approach that encouraged collaboration amongst module facilitators. These weekly virtual meetings provided a space for staff to share their concerns and their Learning-Teaching-Assessment (LTA) strategies. It therefore served as a developmental and therapeutic space for staff. The University continued to provide data to all registered students and staff who work remotely. However, some students continued to have challenges with remote online teaching and learning due to lack of access to devices and connectivity.
The Vice-Chancellor and Principal’s Report describes in greater detail the challenges posed by the pandemic and the University’s response and preparations to manage the changed circumstances.
CHANGES TO ACADEMIC
STRUCTURES AND LIMITATIONS
TO COURSES
The University did not meet its FTEN student enrolment for 2020. At the time of the development of the 2020 – 2025 Enrolment and Efficiency Plan, it was expected that approval for a number of new and HEQSF-aligned programmes would be in place. However, this was not the case. In 2020, 17 such programmes could not be offered due to the delay in the external approval of these programmes. This was further exacerbated by the delay in the building of a new Engineering block at the Indumiso campus, that limited the number of Engineering offerings.
A major extraneous constraint to access in certain programmes, especially in the Health Sciences, are the restrictions put in place by certain professional boards. The restrictions are two-fold, namely prescription on academic admission criteria and limitation on enrolment. The instrument used to control this is the power to pronounce on the professional accreditation of the qualification.
Noteworthy New Programmes
The Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education, PG Dip (HE), which received accreditation from the CHE, commenced in 2020. This programme serves a strategic purpose as it also provides a formal avenue for our lecturing staff to enhance their pedagogical skills.
SIYAPHUMELELA PROJECT
The Vice-Chancellor’s Report on Management and Administration has introduced the Kresge Foundation- funded Siyaphumelela Project. As partner and regional leader, DUT has committed inter alia to developing and presenting national workshops aligned to the goals of the Project, and establishing and co-ordinating a regional sub-network comprising nearby universities to support development and sharing of insights into institutional student success initiatives.
The DUT Project’s three focus areas include:
• Holistic Student Supports (Sikusekele): Driven through Student Services, this area focuses on the development and implementation of Holistic Student Supports, aimed at dismantling siloed support structures/activities and meeting students at their point of need.
• Moving the Middle: Driven through the CELT, this area focuses on addressing the different levels of preparedness of students to become adaptative graduates, and some staff to engage with pedagogies that develop graduates with the acumen to initiate and/or respond to change; and