media releases - Unisa accredited by American Distance Edu & Training Council

On 12 January 2002 the University of South Africa was accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) in the United States. The accreditation means that a prestigious international Accrediting Commission has concluded that Unisa is a quality distance education institution that sets attainable educational outcomes for its academic programmes, provides materials and services to enable students to reach those objectives and has the capacity to continue to provide these services in future.

Unisa's qualifications are comparable to those of other institutions in the States and elsewhere in the world that have been accredited by DETC. Unisa may use the DETC seal on its material which should enable the institution to attract more students. The accreditation is valid for a five-year period after which the institution is re-evaluated. DETC is aware of the current merger plans and will be kept up to date.

Mr Michael Lambert, the CEO of DETC, and Dr Joseph Gurubatham, who chaired the examining committee, will be presenting the accreditation at a function at Unisa in early February.   DETC was founded as the National Home Study Council in 1926 and became an independent Accrediting Commission in 1955, acknowledged by the US Office of Education as the 'nationally recognized accrediting agency' for distance education institutions. It is periodically reviewed by the US Department of Education ensure that it meets the criteria for federal recognition.

The Accrediting Commission was reviewed in 2001 and its official approval extended for a further five-year period. DETC is also recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, a non-governmental body that recognizes and coordinates the activities of higher education accrediting agencies throughout the US.   DETC accreditation is based on a rigorous peer review of the institution and of all programmes and materials based on twelve predetermined standards developed over a number of years.

During 2001 Unisa appointed a team of three people, Mr Jan Munnik, Director of the Collaboration Unit, Mrs Dallas Leibbrandt, head of Despatch, and Professor Wendy Kilfoil, a senior academic, to drive the accreditation process. With the cooperation of the Faculties and administrative and professional departments, a self-evaluation report was drawn up. Materials were sent out to external evaluators at other universities for off-site evaluation. Students were polled for their views of the university's programmes and services. In August an onsite examination team consisting of four US academic and business experts, two South African academic evaluators and an observer from the South African Higher Education Quality Committee inspected the Cape Town and Pretoria campuses, interviewing hundreds of staff and students in the process.    

Unisa sought accreditation for a number of reasons including   • a desire for national and international benchmarking of the quality of its teaching and services,
• an external source of stimulation to improve services, programmes and staff,
• benefits to its graduates of having a degree from a university accredited in the US and
• the possibility of attracting US students because of the accreditation.

ISSUED BY:    DOREEN GOUGH
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