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This paper provides a historical overview of the development of higher education research in South Africa by focusing on past achievements and conditions, and present and future challenges. An attempt is made to point out the changes in both the context and paradigm of higher education research. The authors illustrate how research foci and methods were shaped by the political agenda of the “old” South Africa, and highlight the issues which higher education currently and in the future will have to address as part of the transformation process of not only higher education, but of South African society as a whole.

Quality assurance is a world‐wide phenomenon that urges Higher Education institutions to be accountable and reflect value for money in all their activities. In the South African Higher Education system quality assurance practices and procedures differ. The present practices and initiatives directed towards quality improvement and assurance within the universities and technikons are examined. There is, in quality assurance activities, the complexity of mechanisms to assure quality, and the necessity of a holistic approach to quality assurance. Quality assurance in South African Higher Education is still in a developmental stage. Engaging in quality assurance activities requires acquaintance with the present state of the art of South African Higher Education quality assurance practices.

The face ofpostsecondary education in South Africa is changing rapidly. The need for academic development or, more specifically, the need for a differentiated college system to redress the educational disparities of the past and to enhance equitable access for all potential students within reasonable budgets is emphasized in constructing a new educational system for the country. Existing academic support, provided mostly by universities, merely addresses the symptoms of a critical problem, namely that of poor schooling and inadequate preparation for higher education. The long‐term answer is adequate primary and secondary education. In the meantime, it may be necessary to develop the community college concept in South Africa by transforming existing programs and structures for this purpose on a local and regional level. In this article, we describe one such initiative that serves as an example of what may be achieved if the community college concept is applied in its broadest sense to the benefit of postse...

In South Africa an obvious need for the clarification of problems concerning academic standards and quality assurance has been identified. Some of the reasons for the differences in this regard between developing and established universities in South Africa are explained with reference to the causes thereof, namely a fragmented system of education, disparities in student enrolment and staffing and the lack of a culture of learning. Areas that require special attention to set the scene for quality assurance to be successfully implemented are identified and, based on research, proposals are made for quality assurance mechanisms for South African universities.