Higher Certificate in Public Management

Purpose

This qualification will achieve three related purposes

• The primary purpose of the qualification is to provide graduates with professional knowledge, specific skills and applied competence that provide for continued personal intellectual growth, gainful economic activity and valuable contributions to society in the fields of public and development management, with a special emphasis on the quality and improvement of public service delivery.
• The second purpose of the qualification is to provide South Africa, and other countries, with graduates in the fields of public management. Management skills, especially finance, are constantly in high demand, as set out in the National Development Plan as well as the National Scarce Skills List, and this qualification offered by this institution attends to these economic needs.
• A further purpose of the qualification is to provide students with a base of further specialisation towards a professional career in public and development management and/or related fields. This qualification achieves this by providing students with sound academic knowledge relating to public and development management, and also includes more generalised knowledge and skills that are vital in today's dynamic and competitive environment.

They will similarly be aware of how knowledge of public sector management has developed, and be able to apply the standard approaches and techniques in use today. The study materials, and the linked supporting materials, will require students to gather and process a range of information, in order to identify and solve problems typical of the public sector workplace, an environment with which they are already familiar. Professional ethics and personal accountability is already introduced, although expanded in more depth and detail in subsequent qualifications. Finally, recognising that this qualification may be the students 'first experience of tertiary education, the institution will utilise a structured learning process to gradually encourage students to take responsibility for their own, and their team members' studies.

Rationale

The rationale for this qualification is twofold, i.e. (a) that South Africa and similar developmental states have a need for an improved public and development sector, and (b) this qualification is part of a package of articulated qualifications that will effectively meet this need, as follows:

In South Africa, this need is particularly acute because of past legacies, many public servants were denied management education, training and development opportunities. Until today, South Africa's public service is dogged by low levels of capacity, which result in poor quality service delivery public protests, and, as shown in recent local government elections, a dissatisfied electorate. The capacity of the public service has long been a focus of various evaluations and reports, such as the recent "Building a Capable, Career-Oriented and Professional Public Service to Underpin a Capable and Developmental State in South Africa" by the Public Service Commission (PSC) (2016).

The PSC noted that "The NDP Diagnostic Report concludes that the performance of the public service is uneven. There are excellent departments but also those characterised by poor performance, maladministration and even collapse". The PSC went on to investigate what the main challenges in building a capable public service were, and, noting unprofessional management and ineffective leadership as a "symptom", concluded that "There is, in many cases, no sound basis for building careers or for succession planning, and consequently no sustainable pools of skills are created continuous professional development is not institutionalised and purposeful" as a "root cause". As such, an appropriate solution to this problem would be a formal sequence of professional qualification that allow learners to develop their management knowledge, skills, and values, which will consequently contribute positively towards improving public service delivery and the development of our country.

This qualification has been developed as part of a package offered by the institution to its public and development sector management clients which will allow a learner to obtain a nationally recognised qualification in Public Management that articulates with similar relevant qualifications at different NQF levels and thus allows for the continuous professional development of present and future public sector managers that the country needs.

The Higher Certificate in Public Management (Level 5): Intended is target to a range of students, such as mature public officials with extensive work experience, but who don't have the required qualification to meet the entrance requirements of the Bachelor of Public Management (BPM), or public sector specialists, e.g. medical doctors, engineers, etc., who already possess a professional qualification but who now require management and leadership competence, etc. These students typically require a foundation management qualification to embellish their existing knowledge and skills and especially hone their academic skills so that they are equipped to pursue degree-level studies next.

This qualification is thus the institution's foundational qualification in public sector management and leadership. For example, on completion of this qualification, successful students will be able to understand core areas and define key concepts of public management that are later used as "assumed knowledge" in subsequent qualifications. This qualification prepares students to enter a range of professional careers in public and development management.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

RPL is allowed for the purpose of accessing this qualification. The institution's RPL policy conforms fully to the requirements of SAQA's National Policy for the implementation of the Recognition of Prior Learning (2013). A summary of our RPL policy includes:

i. The institution allows applicants to register for the qualification if they do not meet the formal academic admission requirements through the RPL system.

ii. In terms of basic requirements, RPL applicants must be of mature age, with solid work experience (at least 2 years at junior management/supervisory level), and hold a formal qualification two "levels" below the level of the qualification to which they are seeking entry (i.e. The institution's RPL system allows RPL candidates to "skip one step.

Candidates need to satisfy the panel that they intend using this qualification to improve the quality of life of all South Africans.

iii. RPL applicants are required to prepare portfolios of evidence, containing evidence from four sources, including

• Formal learning (e.g. certificates, academic transcripts, etc.).
• Informal learning (e.g. job descriptions, employment contracts, etc.).
• Work products (e.g. statements from employers, evidence of work performed by the applicant, etc.).
• Regenesys' own RPL processes (e.g. RMAT, case study, panel interview, etc.).

iv. To avoid the costs of the excellent commercial management admissions tests becoming a barrier to entry, the institution has developed its own integrated and comprehensive entrance test, known as the Admissions Test, which was designed from the outset to be very similar to the GMAT. This is a 60-minute, 6-level multiple choice test, with the two highest levels of 5 and 6 modelled on, and set at the same standard as, the GMAT. The RMAT contains the typical three broad categories of English (literacy; weighted at 40%), Quantitative (numeracy; weighted at 30%), and Integrated Reasoning (cognitive; weighted at 30%), with multiple sub-categories under each of these, plus the additional category of Analytical Writing Assessment only on Levels 5 and 6.

v. Finally, candidates also write a case-study based assessment, and undergo a panel interview, neither of which requires any previous formal knowledge of management.

• All information and results are taken together to ensure that we uphold the general principle that we must be "satisfied that the applicant has competence in the appropriate field of intended study at the appropriate entry level of the target qualification."

Entry Requirements

The minimum requirements for admission into the qualification are

• A matric or similar qualification on Level 4.

This qualification comprises compulsory modules at Level 5 totalling 120 Credits.

Compulsory Modules Level 5, 120 Credits

• Public Strategic Management, 20 Credits.
• Public Finance Management, 20 Credits.
• Public Project Management, 20 Credits.
• Public Human Resource Management, 20 Credits.
• Local Government Management, 20 Credits.
• Quality and Customer Service Management, 20 Credits.
• Public Monitoring and Evaluation, 20 Credits.
• Public Performance Management, 20 Credits.
• Local Economic Development, 20 Credits.

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the public management environment.
• Have an overview of key legislation e.g. Public Service Act, Public Finance Management Act,etc. and relate it to the public and development sector.
• Define strategic management, explain the process, and be familiar with the tools.
• Manage stakeholders.
• Apply the principles of public ethics and corporate governance.
• Familiarise him/herself with public finance terminology, budgets, and financial analysis.
• Understand key project management processes, tools, and success and failure factors.
• Manage people, group dynamics (including conflict), and project teams effectively.
• Develop additional competencies in a specialised area within public and development.

management, e.g. local government, performance management, quality and customer relations management, local economic development, and monitoring and evaluation.

The following Associated Assessment Criteria will be assessed in an integrated manner across all the Exit Level Outcomes:

• Analyse and interpret the public management environment, including its political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal dynamics.
• Interpret and apply the spheres and branches of government within South Africa, together with the policy framework to ensure the provision of effective and efficient administrative service.
• Utilise the latest version of the official tools for strategic planning, the Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework, and annual performance planning is performed using the latest version of the official tools.
• Identify, analyse, and prioritise stakeholders, and develop participation tactics to engage key stakeholders, in public and development programmes.
• Synthesise various public sector codes of conduct, and the requirements of the King Commission reports, and apply them to Public Service Commission, Public Protector, and/or media reports.
• Correctly use terminology from the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), Public Auditors' Act, and Supply Chain.

Management Regulations, and use the appropriate tools to compile a budget, manage cash flow, and perform variance analysis.

• Define the scope, develop a charter, compile a work breakdown structure, draw up a project schedule, estimate a budget, delegate responsibilities, monitor and evaluate progress, and terminate a project.
• Manage internal (e.g. officials) and external (e.g. citizens) people, interpreting and applying the Batho Pele principles, in various positive and conflictual scenarios, including within project teams and steering committees.

Integrated Assessment

Both formative and summative assessments are used in this qualification as follows

• The formative assessments are integrated into the learning materials and consist of both informal activities (such as self-tests and quizzes) and also of formal activities, of which there are three different types:

> Objective tests (e.g. Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs)), weighted at 20%).

> Collaborative tasks (e.g. group presentations, weighted at 10%).

> Cognitive assignments (e.g. traditional individual assignments, weighted at 30%).

• All types of formative assessment only cover a limited range of learning outcomes at any one time and development feedback is provided to students. There are MCQs in every section of every module of the learning materials, so all learning outcomes are ultimately assessed once through this means by the end of each module. All learning outcomes are assessed again a second time by the end of each module, some in the cognitive assignment and the remainder in the summative examination.
• The summative assessment is usually conducted in the form of an examination, although sometimes alternative means, such as group presentations or portfolios of evidence, may also be used. The summative assessment is weighted at 40% of the final mark for each module, and covers a range of learning outcomes from each module, thus testing a student's ability to manage and integrate a large body of knowledge to achieve the stated outcomes.