College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2022 29 books, presented entirely online, compared to nine in 2021. Other programme-related aspects: • CBE schools and departments regularly review programmes and modules and their delivery modes to ensure quality and relevance. The CBE Head of Quality Assurance oversees these reviews. • New programmes and amendments to existing ones are scrutinised by the CBE Programme Committee and go through a rigorous internal approval process. • Significant progress has been made with the flexible BCom Degree. Senate approval for the programme was obtained in the second semester of 2022. It was then submitted to DHET for PQM clearance in December 2022. This application was successful, as DHET informed the University in January 2023 that the programme complied with the necessary guidelines for PQM clearance in both contact and distance modes. • The hybrid approach to teaching and learning present challenges relating to the time and effort involved in coordinating teaching and assessment activities. However, the experience of online teaching and learning in 2020 and 2021 did help to ease the process somewhat. The transition to complete in-person instruction in the second semester presented some difficulty, as staff and students attempted to re-orientate themselves to contact-based teaching, learning and assessment. These experiences have provided greater prominence to blended learning as a mode of delivery. • The University offers two enrichment modules for UG students: African Insights (AIOM) and Artificial Intelligence in 4IR (AIFIR). A student must complete at least one of these modules for graduation. In 2022, 2 305 students completed the AIFIR module, compared to 1 616 in 2021. In the case of the AIOM module, 1 287 completed it in 2022 compared to 1 378 in 2021. The total completion over the last three years was 5 824 and 4 487 for AIFIR and AIOM, respectively. THE WAY AHEAD If anything, recent years have shown that both local and global developments inevitably impact the academic environment. Failure to adapt to social, economic, political, and technological changes will lead to the demise of higher education as we know it. Amidst a sea of change, the CBE fleet remains steadfast in its path of excellence in teaching and learning to deliver graduates with the knowledge and the thinking skills needed to make sense of and respond to the challenges associated with the dynamic and complex world of business and economics. The CBE cannot afford to become complacent about what and how it delivers education. In contributing to the holistic development of future graduates, it needs to be ahead of the curve in critical areas relating to teaching and learning. As such, it needs to constantly explore creative ways of addressing the dimensions of time, space, and matter (content) to be at the forefront of teaching and learning locally and globally. The following are of strategic importance as we advance: • Currently, programmes are reviewed periodically. This may not be adequate for an environment that is changing rapidly. Hence, a process should be put in place to allow for continuous critical reflection and review of programmes in terms of content and how they are packaged. This also entails an ongoing review of the overall CBE PQM. • The delivery of teaching in terms of time and space should be reviewed with a view to finding creative and flexible delivery modes to cater to the shifting demands and lifestyles of an evolving student demographic. • There should be an increased focus on providing an enriching university experience for students beyond the curriculum. • There should be critical reflection on how we assess students, monitor their performance, and support them during their academic journey.
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