CUT Annual Report 2008

30
11
The Unit for Academic Development (UAD) aspires
to support academic staff and students by means
of the enhancement of a student-centred teaching
and learning approach, the provision of need-directed
academic staff development initiatives, leadership in
student academic development practices, the initiation
of innovative curriculum development processes, the
implementation of educational technology strategies,
and the provision of quality information literacy and
information services.
The UAD continued with its academic development
practices during the reporting period and prepared
academic staff for the complexities of educating a
new generation of students and equipping them with
the advanced skills and knowledge they will need for
the world of work. Staff members have to cope with,
inter alia, fundamental curriculum changes due to
the promulgation of the HEQF. During 2008 the UAD
achieved the following strategic objectives:
Significant
Developments in
Academic Support
• Benchmarking academic development practices with
other higher education institutions;
• Enrolling academic staff members for formal
qualifications to update their teaching and learning
practices;
• Managing the implementation of an Academic
Literacy Programme (ALP) for first-year students;
• Empowering academic staff members by means of
staff development initiatives (workshops/seminars);
• Co-ordinating the provision of Extended Curriculum
programmes;
• Co-ordinating the Extended Curriculum provision
training fund;
• Training and supporting academic staff in the
development and implementation of course material
in electronic mode;
• Establishing institutional curriculum development
committees to address the HEQF;
• Redefining the Library and Information Centre
mission, structure and services in line with CUT
objectives;
• Managing the administrative and academic support
services at the Kimberley Regional Learning Centre;
and
• Implementing quality assurance practices.
The implementation of the ALP at the CUT deserves
special mention. The idea of an ALP was mooted against
the backdrop of the widespread findings in research that
most of the students entering South African universities in
recent years lack the academic language skills required for
success at such institutions. The obvious result of this is
the negative impact it has on the academic performance
of such students and, by implication, the pass and
throughput rates. Academic literacy has been interpreted
to entail a student’s ability to deal successfully with the
thinking demands of university study in the language
of instruction. In other words, there is a specific set
of language and thinking skills that university students