A new look at demographic transformation for universities in South Africa

We used our previously defined 'Equity Index' to determine the demographic profile of the 23 universities in South Africa's higher education sector. We under took an analysis of the demographic profiles of both students and staff based on audited 2011 data from the Higher Education Ma...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:South African Journal of Science 2013-11, Vol.109 (11-12), p.1-1
Main Authors: Govinder, Kesh S, Zondo, Nombuso P, Makgoba, Malegapuru W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Colleges & universities
Democracy
Demographic aspects
demographics
Education
Education, Higher
Equity
equity index
Funding
Higher education
Productivity
Quality
Racism
ranking
Society
South Africa
Students
Studies
transformation
Trends
universities
Universities and colleges
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We used our previously defined 'Equity Index' to determine the demographic profile of the 23 universities in South Africa's higher education sector. We under took an analysis of the demographic profiles of both students and staff based on audited 2011 data from the Higher Education Management Information System. We also considered an equity-weighted research index. We show the general applicability of the Euclidean formula in calculating 230 equity indices within the university sector. All institutions in the country were ranked in these categories. These rankings are quite instructive as to the demographics of the sector, both nationally and for individual institutions. No university has reached the ideal Overall Equity Index of zero and none falls within a 5% tolerance of the national demographic data. Four groups of universities emerge: those with good equity indices and low research productivity; those with poor equity indices and low research productivity; those with poor equity indices and high research productivity; and, finally, those with good equity indices and high research productivity. This index is the first quantitative measure that can be incorporated into an analysis of transformation. The Equity Index adds an innovative 'new look' to the profile and differentiation of the South African higher education landscape, and should become an important policy tool in steering the system towards a notion of transformation that connects, rather than disconnects, equity, development and differentiation. The index may also become a useful universal measurement of equity in higher education (and other) systems globally.
ISSN:0038-2353
1996-7489
DOI:10.1590/sajs.2013/20130163