Overview and Mandate of the department

The Department of Programme Accreditation and Curriculum Development (PACD) reports to VUT’s Registrar’s portfolio. The Department’s activities are directly aligned with the Registrar’s strategic, operational, and academic planning activities. The Department’s focus is to build and manage VUT’s PQM by facilitating the qualification design and accreditation processes of new qualifications to be included in VUT’s Programme and Qualification Mix (PQM), and by reviewing existing programmes on the institution’s PQM.

In 2022, the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) introduced the Integrated Accreditation Process (IAP) of qualifications, which is associated with the approval, accreditation, and registration of qualifications as outlined in the Quality Assurance Framework (QAF). The QAF consists of processes associated with various stages of internal and external approval of quality assurance, including accountability for qualification improvement, planning, and delivery.

The QAF informs a shift in focus from programme to qualification design and accreditation, aligned with QAF guidelines and criteria, which include:

• Development of Standards, Guidelines and Criteria

• Drawing attention to the enhancement of the quality culture and the interconnectedness of quality experiences

• A strategic management approach – Quality, Planning, Funding

• Review of qualifications and programmes (addressing proliferation, as well as key niche areas relevant to the institutional identity and context)

• Paying attention to your institution’s EQA track record

Qualification approval, as per the IAP, is strongly shaped by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) programme accreditation framework and QAF requirements and criteria, as well as other statutory and professional councils’ legislative requirements (CHE, 2021). Internal programme approval and accreditation mechanisms (Advisory Committee, Faculty Board, Academic Planning and Development Committee [APDC], Senate) ensure that all new and existing academic qualifications meet the necessary quality requirements for submission, as per the QAF, to external accreditation, registration, and funding agencies.

PACD monitors and audits qualification design and reviews according to the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework (HEQSF). This process is conducted through collaboration with faculties to ensure that the standards of qualifications meet the requirements and criteria of national higher education agencies, as outlined by the QAF — such as the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the Council on Higher Education (CHE), the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC), the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), and external professional bodies.