Associate Professor Mary Masehela

I am an Associate Professor in the Academic Staff and Professional Development (ASPD) unit in CHED. I am also the institutional coordinator of the new Generation of Academics’ Programme (nGAP) at UCT. Prior to joining UCT, I was Head of the Department of Academic Development Unit at the University of Venda. My exposure in academic development began in 2012 when I got appointed as an educational development practitioner at the same institution. I grew up the ranks to become a senior educational development practitioner after completing my PhD in higher education studies with Rhodes University. My early years in the academic career include a more than five years as a lecturer from 2007 to 2012 in the Department of English Studies at UNISA which was preceded by 10 years of lecturing at the University of Venda in the Department of Linguistics which is today called the Department of Applied Communication and Media Studies from 1996 to 2006.

I have been exposed to a variety of higher education national committees. I am currently a member of the CHE’s Accreditation Committee since 2021. In 2022, I participated in the national institutional audits of which I was a member of the Walter Sisulu audit committee.  Prior to this, I was a member of Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of South Africa (HELTASA) where I served as deputy president, representative in CHE-HELTASA Teaching and Learning National Awards and eventually became the chairperson of this awards committee.

Other than the above, I have been a (principal) researcher in various externally funded projects before joining UCT. I am currently a researcher in a one-year National Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) funded project that involved four universities namely: University of Limpopo, University of Venda, University of Cape Town and SAGE University in India. The project research focus is on mentorship of early career academics in universities.

I have published widely in various topics in higher education including, student academic mentorship and quality assurance in teaching and learning. My latest research focus is on policy management in higher education and mentoring of early career academics.  

My research publications can be found at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Langutani-Masehela/research

Contact:  Mary.masehela@uct.ac.za