ASPD in CHED already has a significant footprint in regional and national contexts which we hope to strengthen and shape further to uphold our vision to be a central hub of ASPD activities and to embrace collaborative and connected ASPD work across contexts of difference. Currently, the following programmes are cited as examples of such programmes and do not include the full gamut of offerings by CHED as a whole.
Regional ASPD Programmes
Among ASPD regional offerings, the New Academics’ Transitions into HE Regional Colloquium (NATRC), in its 4th year, is hosted by University of Cape Town in collaboration with the Universities of the Western Cape, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Stellenbosch. NATRC Phase One provides a space for new academics in the region to collaboratively engage, debate and discuss the challenges and opportunities they faced as they transitioned from practice-based or professional settings to their academic roles at the university, as they entered the teaching space for the first time.
Participants present their insights and perspectives at a regional colloquium to share innovative and responsive interventions and strategies used to navigate their spaces. NATRC Phase Two is focused on collaborative clusters, grouped around common themes to write up and co-publish what emerged from the colloquium. To date we have had 3 publications from NATRC across universities and the 2019-2020 Phase Two is in progress.
The CHEC Quality Teaching in Higher Education (QTHE) Programme/ Short Courses present an opportunity for academic staff at the four regional universities to engage with and learn from each other about areas of common interest in learning and teaching. Facilitators are drawn from the four universities in the Western Cape to collaborate, to present, facilitate and convene some of these programmes. UCT staff development academics have facilitated courses on language, assessment and more recently, decoloniality. The QTHE is well subscribed by regional institutions but a huge challenge is that there is little take up by UCT academics, despite financial support towards fees.
National ASPD Programmes
At a national level, UCT leads academic staff development and capacity development programmes through the UCDP Collaborative Projects. The New Academics Transitioning into HE Programme (NATHEP), in its pen-ultimate year in the 2018-2020/21 UCDG cycle, is led by UCT and builds capacity among 20 staff developers, drawn from 10 universities nationally, to create, develop even enhance induction models for new academics across the sector. The aim of the project is to create contextualised, not generic induction models focused on agency of new academics to effect change in their roles as academics. To date, the 10 universities have engaged and implemented well theorised and contextualised models for their universities. UCDG reports refer.
Contact details
NATRC and NATHEP Convenor: Associate Professor Kasturi Behari-Leak
NATRC and NATHEP Programme Manager: Mr Ntobeko Mbuyisa
NATRC and NATHEP Administrator: Mrs Avrill Dawson