On 17 March 2025, the Directorate of Institutional Planning and Quality Assurance (IPQA) at the University of Venda (UNIVEN), through its Quality Assurance (QA) Unit, successfully hosted a workshop with representatives from the Council on Higher Education (CHE). This event focused on the Management of Higher Education Qualification Sub-framework (HEQSF) records.
The CHE delegation was led by Dr Phumzile Dlamini, Director of the M-HEQSF Directorate, and Ms Robin Naude, Manager of Accreditation. The physical visit followed up on a workshop held in Mpumalanga on 30-31 July 2024, which primarily aimed to discuss the CHE and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) Communique 2 of 2024. This document provided guidelines on the criteria for registering qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and the key requirements for implementing the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework.
The workshop addressed various issues concerning UNIVEN’s academic programme records. It provided an opportunity to share knowledge about the implementation of HEQSF policies, including recognition of prior learning (RPL), credit accumulation and transfer (CAT), and data preparation for the Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS).
On the photo (left): The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) for Teaching and Learning, Prof Eucebious (Sebi) Leka-lakala-Mokgele, during her Opening remarks
The event was graced by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) for Teaching and Learning, Prof Eucebious (Sebi) Lekalakala-Mokgele, who emphasised the importance of quality assur-ance in higher education. She encouraged all attendees to actively engage in the discus-sions, underscoring that quality assurance is central to the institution’s mission. Prof Lekalakala-Mokgele also expressed her gratitude to the CHE for its collaborative approach, of-fering support to the university rather than focusing on punitive measures for ensuring quality.
Dr Phumzile Dlamini during the engagement
Dr Dlamini assured UNIVEN of CHE’s ongoing support in aligning HEQSF records. She stressed the importance of aligning the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) ap-proval records, Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) Accreditation/HEQSF align-ment records, and SAQA registration records to avoid future challenges for students.
During the workshop, Dr Dlamini highlighted specific guidelines regarding the imple-mentation of RPL and CAT policies. She reminded the university that RPL should ad-here to the 10% threshold, while the CAT policy emphasises a 50% transfer threshold.
Mr Lufuno Netshifhefhe, Head of Quality Assurance Unit, facilitating engagements with the participants
Mr Lufuno Netshifhefhe, Head of Quality Assurance, facilitated the discus-sion. The QA team engaged with the CHE on the process of re-registering pro-grammes in the NQF and agreed to work together to ensure that programme con-tent for registration purposes is submitted and included in the HEQC agenda promptly.
The session also covered Addendum A, B, and C, which list qualifications in various re-registration stages. Addendum A includes qualifications that meet the SAQA reg-istration requirements, while Addendum B contains programmes awaiting content submission but provisionally re-registered until 30 June 2027. Addendum C outlines HEQSF-aligned qualifications previously recorded as learning programmes. The CHE and SAQA have agreed on the process of delinking these qualifications from their par-ent qualifications, with institutions required to submit additional content as needed.
In closing, Mr Tebello Mofokeng, Head of Management Information Systems, reinforced the im-portance of the discussions held during the workshop. He highlighted the potential risks of ne-glecting quality assurance processes, such as reputational damage and the loss of programme accreditation. Mr Mofokeng encouraged the CHE to continue organising awareness workshops to ensure all stakeholders understand their role in maintaining the university’s quality standards.
This successful workshop marks a crucial step in strengthening the alignment of UNIVEN’s ac-ademic records with statutory bodies and improving overall quality assurance processes.
Issued by:
Department of Marketing, Branding and Communication
University of Venda
Tel: 082 868 2218 / 082 868 1811
