Annual Report 2007/2008 - Umalusi

Report on Operations (continued)ongoing staff training and development toensure that staff are capacitated; andusing resources efficiently and ensuring that itswork is characterised by service excellence toboth the internal and external public.As Umalusi continues to administer its establishedquality assurance processes and maintain its highstandards, impending changes in the NQF architecturewill require a new look at its roles and responsibilitiesduring 2008. This will not slow its progress towardsfulfilling its current mandate, but will certainly enhanceand broaden Umalusi’s influence as a quality assuror ofgeneral and further education and training.Quality PromotionWhile staff continued to embrace a set of key qualityprinciples and practices developed in 2006, theorganisation moved a step forward towards greaterefficiency by providing a seamless experience forexternal users of Umalusi’s quality assurance processes.This took the form of project integration across units;workflow mapping captured in the organisationalmanagement information system, the introduction ofa uniform information management system and theformalising of the internal monitoring and evaluationprocess.This meant a substantial shift in the way theorganisation worked; units that previously workeddiscretely moved towards a model of horizontalcooperation in which boundaries were viewed astransition points rather than blockages.Externally, Umalusi has strived to promote quality notonly through its formal quality assurance processesbut also by virtue of its stakeholder relationships,through the creation of public debate on importanteducational and quality issues, and the disseminationof insightful research reports.The reports of the eight programmes that compriseUmalusi’s scope of work reflect accomplishments thatthe Council is justly proud of, and provide detail on thedeliverables achieved during the 2007/08 financial year.PROGRAMME A:PROGRAMME B:PROGRAMME C:PROGRAMME D:PROGRAMME E:PROGRAMME F:PROGRAMME G1:PROGRAMME G2:Quality Assurance of Assessment (QAA)Evaluation and Accreditation (E&A)Qualifications, Curriculum and Certification (QCC)Research and Development (R&D)Management Support Structures and Governance (MSS)Information Technology Systems (IT)Finance and Administration (F&A)Human Resources Management and Development (HR)Interesting FactsTo give effect to its quality assurance processesfor 2007, Umalusi employed the following qualityassurance processes:Quality Assurance of Assessment (QAA):152 moderators were employed to moderate2 104 question papers; andThe results of the 11 national subjects,approximately 550 provincially examinedsubjects (HG and SG), 101 subjects of theindependent assessment bodies, 160 NATEDinstructional offerings, 46 NCV subjects and23 learning areas were standardised.Evaluation and Accreditation of Providers andAssessment Bodies:150 independent schools, 104 private FETlearning sites and 50 private AET centres werevisited. Three consolidated sector reportsemanated from these site visits; andFive provincial assessment bodies and twoprivate assessment bodies were monitoredwhile two new assessment bodies were overseen in a development programme.Qualifications, Curriculum and Certification (QCC):750 836 certifi cates were issued for the SeniorCertifi cate, National Technical Certifi cate N3,National Senior Certifi cate (Colleges) and theGeneral Education and Training (GETC) (Adult).13 U M A L U S I A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 / 0 8