Postgraduate Diploma: Higher Education in Teaching and Learning
Purpose:
Sources: SAQA official qualification record, SAQA registered qualifications record. Yiba Verified does not own the underlying qualification data shown on this page.
Qualification type
Postgraduate Diploma
Credits
120
Sub-framework
HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework
Providers listed
1
Qualification snapshot
Official qualification identity fields captured from the qualification record.
Originator
University of the Western Cape
Quality assurance functionary
CHE - Council on Higher Education
Field
Field 05 - Education, Training and Development
Subfield
Higher Education and Training
Qual class
Regular-Provider-ELOAC
Recognise previous learning
Y
Important dates
These dates are carried directly from the qualification record.
Registration start
2024-07-01
Registration end
2027-06-30
Last date for enrolment
2028-06-30
Last date for achievement
2031-06-30
Purpose and entry context
Official SAQA text formatted for easier reading.
Purpose and rationale
Purpose
The purpose of the programme is to develop and strengthen students' knowledge in teaching and learning in higher education, and to enable academics to undertake advanced reflection and development by means of a systematic survey of current thinking, practice and research methods in teaching and learning in higher education.
The qualification will enable learners to
- Develop, plan, implement and evaluate a learning programme.
- Reticulate learning assumptions and theories informing the design of the programme.
- Develop, plan, implement and evaluate an assessment strategy that is aligned with the aims and intended outcomes of the learning programme.
- Use research to inform and enhance teaching and learning.
- Undertake reflection and apply acquired knowledge to a related professional field of practice.
- Acquire an understanding of certain areas of specialism and apply this in their own context.
Rationale
There is an acknowledged and increased need for the professionalisation of the teaching role of academics in higher education in South Africa. A postgraduate diploma in higher education for academics offers university lecturers an opportunity to enhance their teaching practice in respect of adopting a more scholarly approach towards their teaching.
An enhanced teaching practice will contribute towards the improvement of the present throughput rates and graduate success in higher education. In addition, for academics who have qualified in their own disciplines, a diploma course in higher education offers an opportunity to make the transition into the discipline and discourse of education as a site of study and, if they would wish to further their studies in this area, to articulate with Master's degrees in higher education (both general and specialised), regionally and nationally. Internationally and within South Africa, this is recognised practice.
Entry requirements and RPL
Learners are expected to be able to interpret, explain and/or develop an argument around and an understanding of newly-encountered material and demonstrate ability to marshal an approach used in one or more disciplines.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
RPL is applied to grant
- Access to the qualification to those learners, who do not meet the criteria for admission, but who have proven expertise and competency.
- Exemption from certain modules on grounds of prior qualification of study concerned.
Access to Qualification
Students must have obtained a Bachelor's Degree or equivalent.
RPL may be used to grant access to learners not complying with the entry requirements.
Structure and assessment
Qualification rules, exit outcomes, and assessment criteria from the SAQA record.
Qualification rules
The Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning consists of 3 compulsory core modules of 30 credits each (90 credits) and one elective module of 30 credits totalling 120 credits.
Compulsory Core Modules
- Teaching and Learning.
- Assessment.
- Research for enhancing Teaching and Learning.
Elective Modules.
Learners are to select at least 1 module from the following
- ICTs for Teaching and Learning.
- Postgraduate Supervision.
- Citizenship, Social Inclusion and Difference.
- Academic Leadership and Management.
- Working and Learning.
- Service-Learning in Community Engagement.
Exit level outcomes
- Communicate academic understanding in writing, orally and using visual, symbolic and/or other forms of representation.
- Critically analyse and evaluate the outcomes of interventions, techniques, strategies or processes in teaching and learning in higher education.
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of fundamental concepts and principles.
- Conduct research within the context of teaching and learning in higher education environment, including consideration of interdisciplinary aspects.
Critical Cross-Field Outcomes
This qualification allows all the Critical Cross-Field Outcomes to be addressed.
Associated assessment criteria
The following Assessment Criteria are used in an integrated way to determine competence against the Exit Level Outcomes
- Academic/professional ideas and texts are presented and communicated effectively to a range of audiences offering professional insights, interpretations and solutions to problems and issues appropriate to teaching and learning in higher education.
- Information for teaching and learning in higher education is efficiently and effectively retrieved and processed using appropriate ICTs.
- A comprehensive, systematic and integrated knowledge of teaching and learning in higher education is demonstrated.
- A wide range of knowledge in related areas of specialisation is analysed.
- Complex problems in teaching and learning, are identified, analysed and addressed using a range of routine and advanced skills.
- Conceptual and/or evidence-based solutions and theory-driven arguments are applied.
- A coherent and critical understanding of the principles, scope, theories and epistemologies of teaching and learning in higher education are demonstrated.
- The core concepts, theories and principles of the discipline are identified, described and explained.
- The range and limits of applicability of the core concepts and principles are identified.
- The core concepts and principles are applied.
- Current research and advanced scholarship in teaching and learning is critiqued and sound theoretical judgements based on evidence are made.
- A range of research methodologies and methods/techniques are understood and selected to solve research problems in teaching and learning.
- Independent evaluation of quantitative and/or qualitative data is undertaken.
- Current research and scholarly or professional literature in teaching and learning in higher education are used.
Integrated Assessment
The coursework will be examined by internal and external examiners appointed by the relevant university committees.
Progression and comparability
Articulation options
This qualification articulates horizontally with
- Postgraduate Diploma: Higher Education Studies, at NQF Level 8.
Vertically the qualification may articulate with the following qualifications
- Master of Education: Assessment: Quality Assurance: Education and Training, at NQF Level 9.
- Master of Education: Education Management, at NQF Level 9.
- Master of Education: Education Management: Research, at NQF Level 9.
- Master of Philosophy: Education Policy and Practice, at NQF Level 9.
International comparability
Postgraduate Diplomas (or Certificates, in some countries) are offered as an academic staff development qualification; some of these specialize in different areas (e.g., higher education policy studies, or higher education management), but most provide a teaching qualification for university academic staff.
Some examples are
- Macquarie University, Sydney Australia: Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education and Teaching.
- National University of Ireland (Nui Maynooth): Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education.
The following two qualifications align well with this post-graduate diploma
- The Oxford Learning Institute of the University of Oxford: Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (Part-time).
The qualification offers experienced academics an opportunity to take fresh perspectives on their teaching and their students' learning. The primary aim of the qualification is to enhance teaching, course design and the learning environment at Oxford by building a cadre of educational leaders able to provide educational advice and guidance within their departments or colleges.
Upon the successful completion of the qualification, it is expected that learners will be able to
- Make explicit their own teaching goals and philosophy, comparing and contrasting those to the goals of the course on which they teach.
- Put student learning and its improvement at the centre of discussions and decision-making about teaching.
- Link general (generic) educational research with their discipline and subject matter.
- Reflect on, articulate and critique their own teaching practices in relation to their goals, philosophy, student responses and the educational literature.
- Analyse and identify possible solutions to student performance gaps, based on an understanding of the various factors involved in supporting the achievement of students with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
- Use evidence- and theory-based reasoning to design and critique teaching, courses, assessment and educational evaluation.
- Analyse the weaknesses in the learning environment of their own departments, faculty or college and propose initiatives that would address one or more key weaknesses.
- Appreciate how contextual factors influence both learning and teaching.
The qualification consists of the following 8 compulsory modules
- Perspectives on the aims of higher education and your own teaching goals.
- Student learning and development.
- Feedback and assessment.
- Diversity and inclusivity.
- Teaching settings and strategies.
- Discipline-specific teaching concerns.
- Course design.
- Leading educational change: evaluating and improving teaching in your context.
The Asia University: Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education.
Teaching is specially designed for the professional development of university and college teachers to enhance their knowledge and skills in higher education teaching and learning.
This part-time qualification is fully accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency.
Qualifying learners will be able to
- Examine teaching and learning activities.
- Use understanding of the nature of learning in assisting learners.
- Use relevant assessment principles to implement effective assessment of learning.
- Explore the use of e-Learning tools to complement learning.
- Critically evaluate approaches in curriculum design.
- Facilitate learning through academic and personal counselling.
- Manage and supervise research activities effectively.
The qualification comprises 8 compulsory modules, namely
- Nature of Student Learning.
- Assessment And Evaluation In Higher Education.
- Counselling in Higher Education.
- Course, Curriculum and Programme Design.
- Instructional Methods and Strategies In Higher Education.
- E-Learning In Higher Education.
- Academic Leadership and Research Supervision.
- Micro-Teaching.
Conclusion
This qualification, similar to those offered by the institutions mentioned above and by other universities globally, aims to enable academics and others teaching in higher education to approach the practice of teaching in higher education with a critical perspective on theories of student learning relevant to their disciplinary context. Learners develop an understanding of the principles of teaching and learning, course design and review, and of the assessment of student learning in higher education.
Notes
As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2015.
NOTES
N/A
Providers currently listed
This reflects provider names published on the official record. It is useful for qualification discovery, but it should not be treated as a substitute for checking the relevant quality body’s latest provider status.
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