Download the Annual report 2011 - Unisa

NSFAS/DHET fund utilisation 2009-2011
UNISA ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Year Category Allocation Awarded No. No.
Students Applications
received
2009 NSFAS/DHET R 89,452,000.00 R 89,279,510.00 12849
2009 NSFAS/DHET Disability R 3,571,000.00 R 1,143,815.52 159
2009 NSFAS/DHET Teacher R 4,490,000.00 R 3,060.00 1
R 97,513,000.00 R 90,426,385.52 13009 27314
2010 NSFAS/DHET R 99,091,980.00 R 99,091,980.00 12548
2010 NSFAS/DHET Disability R 3,612,000.00 R 3,366,538.94 313
2010 NSFAS/DHET Teacher R 845,000.00 R 843,870.00 1130
R 103,548,980.00 R 103,302,388.94 13991 46336
2011 NSFAS/DHET R 113,116,250.00 R 112,823,180.00 14777
2011 NSFAS/DHET Disability R 3,916,000.00 R 2,909,689.04 292
2011 NSFAS/DHET Teacher R 887,000.00 R 886,710.00 96
2011 NSFAS/DHET Final year R 5,512,925.00 R 5,113,190.00 499
R 123,432,175.00 R 121,732,769.04 15664 69329
As a university with a wide geographic reach, the equitable
distribution of funds has been a key priority. The
Unisa Student Funding Committee was re-established
with participation from all role-players and 2011 realised
the implementation of the formal guidelines and procedures
to be followed in the provision of student funding
to achieve parity. Further, Unisa also changed from a decentralised/regional
model of allocating student funds
to a central process of allocation. It is gratifying to note
that these changes met the ‘equitable distribution’ purpose
and the application of student funding received
positive comment from students responding to the Student
Satisfaction Survey.
Notwithstanding the successes, there also remain areas
of improvement notably in the area of developing funding
models and practices, quality control and effective
reporting to Management and donors. This function has
been constrained by limited human capacity and resources.
The Directorate attempted to ameliorate the
status quo by using student workers – but this comes
with concomitant challenges. The ICT platforms have
also not been established and much of the administration
remains a manual and rigid process.
Graduations
Unisa hosts two graduation series during the year – the
first is the autumn series from April to June and the second
is the spring series from September to October. It
is encouraging to see the numbers of students who attend
the ceremonies, and we recognise the importance
of this event in the lives of our students.
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A total of 73 graduation and diploma ceremonies were
presented. Ceremonies took place in Pretoria (41 ceremonies),
Cape Town (4 ceremonies), Bloemfontein (2
ceremonies), East London (3 ceremonies), Nelspruit (3
ceremonies), Durban (13 ceremonies) and Polokwane
(5 ceremonies).
Six honorary degrees were conferred on Professor
Brenda Gourley (DLitt et Phil hc), Mr JA Chissano (DLitt
et Phil hc), Mr Raymond D Ackerman (DEd hc), Mr M
Mutloatse (DLitt et Phil hc), Mr Justice Dikgang
Moseneke (Doctor of Laws hc) and Mr Donato Francisco
Mattera (DLitt et Phil hc) respectively.
New qualifications
During 2011, 35 new programmes were submitted for
PQM clearance and accreditation; 25 have already been
approved by DHET and 14 accredited by the HEQC.
As of 2011, 180 changed qualifications were offered;
these are all aligned with the Higher Education Qualifications
Framework (HEQF).
Only one programme submitted to the CHE – the Bachelor
of Science Honours in Life Science – was not accredited
and was referred back to the university. The
accreditation of this programme will not be pursued.
Student discipline
The university is concerned about the increase in the
number of fraudulent school-leaving certificates received
and cases of examination misconduct. The university will