Short-learning programmes bridge the gap between traditional education and the demands of the modern workforce, fostering an environment of adaptability, innovation and lifelong learning.
The director of the Unit for Continuing Education (CED) at the North-West University (NWU), Yolanda Kirsten, took part in a conference tailored to discuss short-learning programme challenges in public higher-education institutions (HEIs).
Due to the intense competition among HEIs, short-learning course management practices are thoroughly monitored to increase benchmarking opportunities.
The unique short-learning programme coordination forum, held at Stellenbosch University, covered significant topics, and dissected the competitive environment between public and private institutions. Among the topics covered at the forum were agreements, intellectual property, micro-credentialing, academic quality control, management software and brand management.
Yolanda Kirsten and other directors from several participating universities expressed their distinct perspectives on overseeing short-learning programmes and overcoming obstacles at higher-education institutions.
Consensus evolved on the difficulty of striking a balance between the flexibility needed for administering short-learning courses and the necessity for scalability while retaining academic quality and user satisfaction.
One of the challenges brought up was the increasing complexity of implementing intellectual property programmes, particularly for online and hybrid design learning, multimedia production, and of co-producing short-learning programmes in universities.
More importantly, one notable aspect was that a number of institutions are still in the early stages of developing their own administrative software and learning management systems.
Several university delegates noted that some of their departments were created to mitigate previous risky business practices that had impacted the reputation of the institutional board.
Some of the major differences among institutional practices included the annual renewal of short-learning courses and the decision by institutions not to compensate lecturers for curriculum development and facilitation.
Above all the forum is expected to become an annual event and will soon be hosted by the Unit for CED at the NWU.
