National Diploma (Engineering : Electrical) extended programme students' perceptions of the benefits of academic development initiatives at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Authors: Greef, Samantha
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Universities and colleges -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Admission , Curriculum change -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Education, Higher -- Curricula -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3305 , vital:20422
- Description: During the last two decades, political change in South Africa has resulted in significant changes to higher education (HE) admission policies. Increased admission into South African universities has meant an increase in student diversity and different levels of preparedness of the students negotiating their way through their academic studies. Academic success of students remains a focus and one way of addressing this has been the introduction of various extended programmes at South African universities. Extended programmes have various academic development initiatives embedded in the coursework. These are designed to assist the academic progress of students. However, student success remains elusive as so many factors may impact. The purpose of this study therefore, was to investigate the perceptions of the National Diploma (Engineering: Electrical) Extended Programme students with regard to the benefits of the academic development initiatives offered by the NMMU, in order to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences as Extended Programme students. An exploratory sequential research design was employed, consisting of two phases of data collection, following each other successively (Creswell, 2012). The first phase of the data collection involved both quantitative and qualitative data. This was followed by a consecutive collection of qualitative data with the aim to enhance the themes that emerged from the first phase of this study. This mixed-methods research design facilitated the gathering of rich data to answer the research questions. The results indicated that these students perceived the academic development initiatives they received as positive and beneficial to their development. In addition, they felt adequately prepared for the mainstream curriculum; acquired and applied many skills relative to their field; and considered themselves to be at an advantage when comparing themselves to their mainstream counterparts.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Implementing lean principles to improve processes at NMMU Business School
- Authors: Malange, Nandipha
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Lean manufacturing -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , College applications -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Universities and colleges -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Admission
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8801 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1017028
- Description: This time of great change, of shifting paradigms, provides a great platform for universities to rethink their processes (Duderstadt, 2000). Thanks to the pioneering success of the Toyota Motor Company for the invention of lean manufacturing. This operating system has been implemented in many manufacturing companies, with recent successes reported in the service industry. With its focus on quality improvement, cost reduction, efficiency and excellency, lean has been recognised as one of the mechanisms for process improvement and organisational change. In terms of fully embracing lean principles, the service industry still lags far behind the manufacturing, with institutions of higher learning still quite far. Numerous authors have confirmed that institutions of learning are not an easy environment to change. Universities are still characterised by bureaucratic systems based on conventional processes that are not necessarily relevant to today‘s world. The old saying that change in the universities occur one grave at a time is not farfetched (Hines and Lethbridge, 2008 and Paul and Brindley, 1996). The impact of globalisation on business education and how to respond to this phenomenon is a challenge. This necessitates a need for more streamlined and efficient organisations; hence lean has been promoted as a strategy to achieve competitive advantage (Simmons and Masson, 2003). The research study aims to identify areas where lean principles can be implemented to improve the NMMU MBA application process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees directly involved in the process in order to understand it better. The results of the respondents were reported in a process chart diagram and spaghetti diagram. The interviews also revealed five themes that emerged during the analysis of responses. These themes formed the basis for development of recommendations in Chapter 6 of the study.
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- Date Issued: 2012