scholarly journals Corporate governance effectiveness and value added at South African higher education institutions: A registrar’s view

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-372
Author(s):  
Karin Barac ◽  
Ben Marx
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Institutional Leadership ◽  
Governance Effectiveness ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
South African Higher Education

Higher education institutions are faced with many challenges in fulfilling their core mandate of teaching, research and community engagement. To achieve this, strong, sound and visionary institutional leadership is required, which should be embedded in sound corporate governance practices. The study aims to ascertain what registrars’ views on the effectiveness and value added by current corporate governance practices of higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa are. This was done through a literature review and supported by empirical evidence obtained from questionnaires addressed to registrars of public HEIs in South Africa, as well as follow up interviews held with participants. The study found strong support for sound corporate governance practices at HEIs in South Africa, and also indicates that these institutions are complying with and adhering to this, although room for improvement exists in certain areas. The value added to and contributions to corporate governance effectiveness by student representative council members and institutional forums were also investigated, and it was found that the evolving corporate governance role of the registrar, over and above the traditional academic and student affairs responsibilities, enjoyed much support. Additional reporting responsibilities, in accordance with current corporate governance developments, were identified as areas not meeting expectations.

scholarly journals Corporate governance practices at higher education institutions in South Africa

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-122
Author(s):  
Ben Marx
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Regulatory Requirements ◽  
Strict Adherence ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Sound Management

South Africa boasts a vibrant higher education sector, with more than a million students enrolled in its higher education institutions. These institutions constitute highly complex organisations, with many and varied stakeholders and with budgets running into hundreds of millions of rands. Sound management and strict adherence to corporate governance principles and practices are essential to the success of these institutions. This will include the establishment of a well-balanced, independent and diligent council, as well as properly constituted and effective sub-committees of council. Of these sub-committees, the audit and finance committees are sure to play a pivotal part in ensuring financial discipline and adherence to sound corporate governance principles and practices. The principal aim of this paper will be to focus on the basic governance-regulatory requirements of higher education institutions in South Africa, and to benchmark these requirements against the corporate governance principles and practices required by King II.

scholarly journals Corporate governance practices at South African higher education institutions: An annual report disclosure analysis

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Barac ◽  
Ben Marx ◽  
Tankiso Moloi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
South African ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Higher Education Act ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Education Act ◽  
South African Higher Education

Higher education institutions are presently facing many challenges, ranging from economic and financial constraints to social and educational issues. Accordingly, sound management and governance are essential, and this brings the governance model of HEIs more in line with business corporations. This article provides an overview of the state of governance practices at higher education institutions in South Africa, and an assessment of the corporate governance disclosures in their annual reports. This was done through a literature review of higher education developments, including a South African perspective, supported by empirical evidence obtained from assessing the annual reports of these institutions. The study found that, although most of these institutions are providing disclosure on their corporate governance structures and practices in line with the recommendations of the Higher Education Act and King II, such disclosure is often lacking in detail and could be improved.

The Role of University Leadership in Advocating Social Justice in South African Higher Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 1527-1544
Author(s):  
Naziema Begum Jappie
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Black Population ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Role Players ◽  
New Democracy ◽  
South African Higher Education

Higher education institutions in South Africa are undergoing remarkable changes. Traditionally, universities have been governed on a scholastic, academic, and research basis. This promoted an authoritarian and autonomous governance system, which clearly justified separate education under apartheid. The new democracy in South Africa vowed to change the system to ensure equity, diversity, and justice in education. Universities had to transform to benefit the underprivileged, disadvantaged, Black population of the country. This resulted in universities having to conduct their activities in a corporate style and, as such, required a commitment by all stakeholders to succeed. University leaderships are important role players who are pivotal in ensuring that social justice prevails. This chapter will investigate the role of leadership in shaping vision and mission in addition, ensuring policy implementation at the various higher education institutions.

The role of business intelligence in sustainability reporting for South African higher education institutions

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 1185-1203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Calitz ◽  
Samual Bosire ◽  
Margaret Cullen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Business Intelligence ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stakeholder Satisfaction ◽  
South African Higher Education

Purpose This paper aims to show that business intelligence (BI) is a key component of a sustainability-reporting framework for higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach Four questionnaires were administered to Registrars and managers at 21 South African HEIs and at selected international HEIs. The data analysis entailed both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings The study confirmed that factors such as management buy-in, the availability of BI reports and the provision of reporting guidelines were positively related to effective strategic planning. The study shows that the use of BI by South African HEIs is still at a low maturity level. Research limitations/implications The case study used is the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The implications are relevant for all 26 HEIs in South Africa. Practical implications HEIs must invest in technological tools, including BI to provide information in understandable and usable formats for management and other relevant stakeholders. Social implications BI reporting can assist all stakeholders to obtain the relevant and required information relating to HEI operations and strategic management initiatives and activities. Originality/value The study concludes that HEIs ought to invest in BI technologies that can assist the sustainability reporting process to ensure stakeholder satisfaction and regulatory compliance.

scholarly journals Academic Mobility and Immigration Trends in South African Higher Education Institutions

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4(J)) ◽  
pp. 52-66
Author(s):  
Ashika Maharaj
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Academic Mobility ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
South African Higher Education

This paper seeks to offer an insighton the subject of academic mobility into South African Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s). This is done by examining the current academic landscape in South Africavia a comparisonbetween the profile of South African (SA) academics andexpatriate academics. Currently, SA is facing major skills and staffing shortages locally in terms of Science, Engineering and Agriculture. The Departmentof Higher Education and Training as well as SA universities have advocated to run programmes in scarce skills disciplines through the recruitment of expatriate academics. The research reported in this paper adopted a non-experimental research design of ex post facto type, using a correlational approach. The data used are the statistical records of all academics in South African higher education for the 2005/2010/2014 academic years as provided by the Higher Education Management Information Systems (HEMIS) of SA. Descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics were also used to analyze the data. The results revealed that there were no significant differences in age between SA and expatriate academics nationally over the three years. A comparison of the academic qualifications of SA and expatriate academics over the three years indicates that expatriate academics are more highly qualified than their SA colleagues, as the majority of the former hold a doctoral degree. The majority of expatriate academics are recruited from SADC countries as well as other African countries. Interestingly enough, the next most frequent major supply region of expatriate academics to South Africa is Europe. WITS and UCT were consistently ranked first and second in terms of the number of expatriate academics employed over the three years. Both are among the leading five higher education institutions in South Africa in terms of their research outputs as well as the number of PhDs per member of staff.

scholarly journals The development of South African higher education within the apartheid system (1948-1994) – selected aspects

2019 ◽  
pp. 97-114
Author(s):  
Tomasz Gmerek
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Education System ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
South African Higher Education ◽  
The Relationship

The article include the consideration of development of South African Higher Education System in Apartheid Era (1948-1994). Particular emphasis was placed on reconstructing educational practices and policy that is implemented toward different racial groups in South Africa. An attempt was made at examining the relationship between schooling, segregation processes, discrimination practices and the development of higher education institutions.

The Role of University Leadership in Advocating Social Justice in South African Higher Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 243-260
Author(s):  
Naziema Begum Jappie
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Black Population ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Role Players ◽  
New Democracy ◽  
South African Higher Education

Higher education institutions in South Africa are undergoing remarkable changes. Traditionally, universities have been governed on a scholastic, academic, and research basis. This promoted an authoritarian and autonomous governance system, which clearly justified separate education under apartheid. The new democracy in South Africa vowed to change the system to ensure equity, diversity, and justice in education. Universities had to transform to benefit the underprivileged, disadvantaged, Black population of the country. This resulted in universities having to conduct their activities in a corporate style and, as such, required a commitment by all stakeholders to succeed. University leaderships are important role players who are pivotal in ensuring that social justice prevails. This chapter will investigate the role of leadership in shaping vision and mission in addition, ensuring policy implementation at the various higher education institutions.

Challenges Posed by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for South African Higher Education Institutions

10.28945/2679 ◽  
2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
ME Herselman ◽  
HR Hay
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Revolutionary Change ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Teaching Learning

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are the major driving forces of globalised and knowledge-based societies of a new world era. They will have a profound impact on teaching and learning for two decades to come. The revolutionary change which is taking place in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), has dramatic effects on the way universities carry out their functions of teaching, learning and research, particularly on the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge. These developments pose unprecedented challenges to higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries particular in South Africa as South Africa is viewed as the leading country on the continent.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document