Fit for purpose – tracking the quality of university education of entry-level journalists

Guy Berger, 10 June 2005

Ubani?

PHAMBILI …1. Serving the industry debate

2. Context: SA’s HE landscape

3. HEQC’s “fit for purpose”

4. Going beyond … to assessing impact

5. UK and US quality audits

6. Methodologies

7. Reference point: media’s “fit for purpose”

A: KUNZIMA• Industry point of reference

• Tension: “admin” vs “critical” journ ed.

Industry Academy

•Prod/professional skills

•Vocational

•External orientation

•Administrative

•Theory, concepts

•Academic

•Internal orientation

•Critical

Vs

Vs

Vs

Vs

A: KUNZIMA•Prod/professional skills

•Vocational

•External orientation

•Administrative

•Theory, concepts

•Academic

•Internal orientation

•Critical

Vs

Vs

Vs

Vs

•Theory embedded in Prod/Professional

•Prod skills ≠ vocation per se (eg. mm, WED)

•Academic ≠ internal orientation (topical)

•Critical can be in all these

BUT:

IMPUMELELO

• Have to cover all bases & tensions

• Bigger issue not university-academy: but contribution to society.

– media not endpoint, but a means …

• Practical connection: USA 71%

• But, beware simple cause-effect

GENERAL:

• Locate academy-industry relations in global “Quality” debate

• About valuing – and investing – in ed.

• HEQC: teaching, learning + Comm Service

• Calls to define missions to our situ.

• = Reference pt for quality assessments.

B: UMHLABA

• Past: reputation, peer • “Customer satisfaction” measure. • “Fit for purpose” – whose purpose?

– VCs: self-referential interpretation.– NCHE: value for $ to stakeholders

• But: Students not customers• But: Many stakeholders; whose priority?• But: Perspective = follow, not lead, “mkt”

= critique? Hayi!

QUALITY - YINTONI LE?

• Overall quality can be negated by weakest link.

• Some say: what a grad can do;• Others: must take account of effects and

benefits of academic education.• If purpose is (critical) contrib to media,

failure there = chain of quality undermined.• Need to assess actual “fit” empirically. • Fit for purpose has to apply to media too.

THETHA!

C: NGESI & AMELIKA

• Sheffield, Westminster, City Leicester, Leeds, Central Lancashire,

• Many have vocational missions/purposes.

• Audits rarely assess this.

• No attention to efficiency (cost) issues

• Few have critical components in mission

• Only one assessed for this – superficially.

ACEJMC accredits – 108 schools

• 12 universal standards (not fit 4 own purpose)

• Includes diversity criteria (courses, people)

• Includes comm service & alumni relations.

• No probe if grads actually join industry.

MISSING IN UK & US:

– (a) grads becoming journos;

– (b) with what effect?

ENYE INTO:

D: IBETHA!

• HEQC urges impact assessment 4 quality• HEQC urges benchmarks (allows ratings)• Impact on whom, intended & unintended?• Cover KAP and RLAP• Reaction: attitude to journ ed.• Learning: what was learnt• Application: what is applied• Pay-off: what diffs are made.• 360 degree research needed.

Alumni surveys:

• Attitude: towards “unethical” practices

• Learning: “when use un-named sources?”

• Application: “have you implemented?”

• Pay-off: “have you persuaded newsroom?”

• Complexity: Baseline needed re: before grad went into the media.

• Using the findings …

IMIBUZO

E: SIQIBILE

• What is the value (i.e. quality) of journ ed?• i.e. impact of grads on & via media.• NB to “admin” v “critical” debate.• NB in context of HEQC & SA univs.• Need expanded view of “fit for purpose”• UK and US systems fall short. • Need to assess media’s own “fit for

purpose” in SA.

Ndiyabulela, abahlohli bam!

Ngoku, masithethe!