College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2020 24 Programme QualifiCaTion mix There have been significant shifts in various programme-related areas, which reflects the agility of the CBE in responding to the dynamic world of economics and business. • The number of fully online programmes in the CBE grew from 2 in 2017 to 9 in 2020. There was a 50% increase from 2019 to 2020. • The CBE hosts six non-subsidised online programmes, namely Advanced Diplomas in Financial Markets, Logistics, People Performance Management, Transportation Management, a BCom (Accountancy) and a Bachelor (Human Resource Management). Online enrolments have grown from 75 students in 2018 to 2 463 students in 2020. • UJ hosts two undergraduate online enrichment modules (African Insights, and Artificial Intelligence in 4IR) of which students need to complete one module. From 2017 to 2019, some 2 300 CBE students completed African Insights. A remarkable change was observed in 2020 with about 2 200 students opting to complete AI in 4IR, compared to 350 students completing African Insights. • In a major boost for accountants of the future, the UJ CBE School of Accounting has become the first tertiary education institution in South Africa to adopt Xero Learn. Says Prof Amanda Dempsey, Senior Director: SOA, “We’re proud to be the first South African university to introduce Xero to our teaching syllabus. Our vision is to educate a generation of accountants that embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The partnership is a first for education in the accounting industry and will give our graduates the necessary tools to be well skilled, agile and ahead of the game”. • Joint interdisciplinary programmes with international institutions rose from 9 in 2017 to 13 in 2020. There was an 8,3% increase from 2019 to 2020. • The delivery of continuing education programmes (CEPs) has again been a growth area in the College during 2020 with 18 new programmes launched, of which 15 focused on the 4IR (4IR Ethics for Accountants, 4IR Ethics for Professionals in Business, 4IR Perspectives for Accounting, 4IR Perspectives for Professionals in Business, Advanced Technology Systems in Quality Management 4.0, An Introduction to Blockchain Technology for Accountants, An Introduction to Blockchain Technology for Professionals in Business, Artificial Intelligence: Perspectives for Accountants, Artificial Intelligence: Perspectives for Professionals in Business, Computational Intelligence for industry, Innovation Series: Industry 4IR, Intelligent System Development, Operational Excellence Strategy with Digital Transformation, Policy Governance of 4IR in Africa, Principles and Applications of 4IR in the Power and Energy Industry). Overall, CEP enrolment remained stable at 6 604 students (+1%). • The number of continuing education programmes with a 4IR focus increased from 4 in 2017 to 33 in 2020. There was an increase of 83% from 2019 to 2020. • In 2020, 2 231 continuing education programme (CEP) modules were offered through blended learning compared to 772 in 2017. There was an increase of 64% from 2019 to 2020. • The number of continuing education programmes, particularly in respect of shortlearning programmes, increased from 104 in 2017 to 134 in 2020. There was an increase of 15,5% from 2019 to 2020. sTraTegiC direCTion All things considered; the 2020 academic year ended better than expected. The CBE is certainly making significant strides in delivering quality education, with enhanced agility in responding to changing conditions. The need for a more streamlined programme and qualification mix (PQM), and one that is better aligned with the changing world of work, has been given much attention in 2020. Significant progress is expected in 2021 and the next few years. The following are, in summary, some key lessons and ideas that emerged from the 2020 experience, including ongoing developments in key strategic areas. • Flexibility in TLA planning is important in contributing to the degree of agility needed to respond swiftly to unexpected changes in circumstances. • Maintaining a blended learning approach and engaging in meaningful variations of it, allows for greater flexibility and a richer learning experience for students. • The rapid transition to online teaching and learning provided a stimulus for TLA innovation. The establishment of a CBE Teaching and Learning Innovation CoP in early 2020, will help in maintaining the momentum of innovation.
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