Counselling. The success of these personalised interventions will be monitored and evaluated every three months. Identify the main challenges the university faces in relation to this focus area. As mentioned, the late registration of students negatively affects the attendance of these students at the extended orientation period. An assessment needs to be undertaken of whether this results in a negative impact on students and the possible benefits that they might derive from the FYE. The staff shortage, especially in the Support Units, means that it is difficult to provide equity of access to all students. For this reason the FYE offered in 2015 has had to be largely online. While there is some progress, the full integration of student academic development and student support services – Student Affairs, Residences, Financial Aid, Student Health, etc. – remains a challenge. There remain concerns about the efficiency of CPUT Finance and HR Departments, e.g., with regard to timely payment of tutors, mentors, TAs and ROs. FOCUS AREA 3: ENHANCING THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (suggested length 10-20 pages) Include: teaching and learning spaces, ICT infrastructure and access, technology-enabled tools and resources, library facilities. This section of the report should make reference to all of the listed above, either by discussing them individually or by integrating them. Note: it is not necessary to respond to each of the questions below for every sub-topic. Summarise what the university considers to be the key issues in enhancing the learning environment. In Focus Area 3, the learning environment is understood as physical, blended and online/virtual learning spaces that are designed to provide a vibrant and well-resourced living and learning environment for all students. CPUT has a number of priority programmes that aim to create a vibrant, enabling and well-resourced living and learning environment for students and an enabling environment for effective teaching, learning, research and community engagement for its staff members. CPUT’s Teaching and Learning Policy requires that all teaching venues meet a minimum standard and, where necessary, be repurposed to provide a flexible learning environment that supports student-centred face-to-face and blended learning. The University recognizes that a stable IT infrastructure and IT support is crucial for a 21st Century learning environment, and more so when blended and virtual teaching and learning is to be used.
Counselling. The success of these personalised interventions will be monitored and evaluated every three months. Identify the main challenges the university faces in relation to this focus area. As mentioned, the late registration of students negatively affects the attendance of these students at the extended orientation period. An assessment needs to be undertaken of whether this results in a negative impact on students and the possible benefits that they might derive from the FYE. The staff shortage, especially in the Support Units, means that it is difficult to provide equity of access to all students. For this reason the FYE offered in 2015 has had to be largely online. While there is some progress, the full integration of student academic development and student support services – Student Affairs, Residences, Financial Aid, Student Health, etc. – remains a challenge. There remain concerns about the efficiency of CPUT Finance and HR Departments, e.g., with regard to timely payment of tutors, mentors, TAs and ROs. FOCUS AREA 3: ENHANCING THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (suggested length 10-20 pages) Include: teaching and learning spaces, ICT infrastructure and access, technology-enabled tools and resources, library facilities. This section of the report should make reference to all of the listed above, either by discussing them individually or by integrating them. Note: it is not necessary to respond to each of the questions below for every sub-topic. Summarise what the university considers to be the key issues in enhancing the learning environment. In Focus Area 3, the learning environment is understood as physical, blended and online/virtual learning spaces that are designed to provide a vibrant and well-resourced living and learning environment for all students. CPUT has a number of priority programmes that aim to create a vibrant, enabling and well-resourced living and learning environment for students and an enabling environment for effective teaching, learning, research and community engagement for its staff members. CPUT’s Teaching and Learning Policy requires that all teaching venues meet a minimum standard and, where necessary, be repurposed to provide a flexible learning environment that supports student-centred face-to-face and blended learning. The University recognizes that a stable IT infrastructure and IT support is crucial for a 21st Century learning environment, and more so when blended and virtual teaching and learning is to be used.
RPT_CPUT%20QEP%20Report%20Phase%201_%2020160117.docx