General/procedural/scope

  • My idea falls outside the scope - it’s not an undergraduate course (part of an on-campus degree) and it is not a full postgraduate programme. Can I still submit an EoI?

    If it does not relate to UCT’s formal credit-bearing offerings then it can’t be considered for this funding - this call will not support funding for MOOCs or short non-credit bearing courses. There may be other opportunities for getting support for innovative online education initiatives - watch the CILT website for announcements. If you are not sure please contact Janet Small. 

  • I want to do an online postgraduate course which might become part of a future programme? Can I submit an EoI?

    Please contact Sukaina Walji to discuss your idea - although the call specified full postgraduate degrees, it may be possible to start developing postgraduate courses if there is a longer term intention to create an online programme.

  • Can I get teaching support/buyout?

    Yes, it is possible to include teaching support/buyout as part of your Expression of Interest - if the Head of Department puts their support behind this idea.

  • How much money can I apply for?

    There is no set amount.  Submitting an expression of interest provides an indication that you want to develop online courses (undergraduate) or degrees (postgraduate).  If the Expression of Interest is selected, you will be asked to develop a full proposal including a budget. There will be guidelines provided for budget development.

  • What if I already have an online PG Diploma offered in a block release format? Can I make this into an online programme? Can I put some of the courses into an online format?

    If you intend the PG Diploma to be offered in a fully online mode eventually, you could submit an expression of interest - which might propose that you begin developing some of the courses in an online mode as part of the pilot phase.

  • Will support for undergraduate courses cover blended courses and how?

    Yes, the support for undergraduate courses can include blended courses if you can make the case regarding how introducing the blended elements will impact positively on students' learning experiences and academic success.

  • What if my undergraduate degree already has a number of full online courses? Can you clarify what the rules are?

    The UCT Online Education Policy document states that at an undergraduate level UCT is a contact institution but that students may be required to engage with online learning through blended course formats and a limited number of fully online courses.  Currently Senate permits that a maximum of 20% of all programme credits may be offered as fully online accredited courses. Any exceptions to this would need to be approved by Senate.

    https://www.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/328/about/policies/Online_Education_Policy_2017.pdf

    4.1c: Without the permission of Senate, no undergraduate programme shall consist of more than 20% of the total credits in fully online mode. However, a student could take additional optional online courses.

 

Assessment in online degrees

  • How can we deal with research and dissertations with online Masters? How will we do the 60 credits dissertation online?

    There are international models for successfully managing supervision of dissertations online. If you are particularly looking at creating an online degree by dissertation, the proposal would have to consider both the educational principles of effective supervision as well as the financial feasibility of such a degree.

  • Can we do a full coursework/professional Masters?

    A coursework or professional masters online is possible - provided the programme can be accredited through the institutional processes, and there is a feasible business plan.

  • How are we going to do assessment online?

    This will be one of the key issues to be resolved when planning any new online qualification.  UCT has implemented some online assessment during Emergency Remote Teaching and Physically Distanced Learning   which we can build on. We are developing options and methods that meet the quality assurance standards of the university for longer term sustainable arrangements.

  • How can we do exams online? Do we need to use exam centres?

    There have been successful online exams run in the past few  years. Exam centres have also been used. General guidelines about online assessment are being looked at by the Exams and Assessment Committee; and in each case, the suitability of the material and student circumstances will have to be taken into account when planning the assessment methods.

 

Establishing the market

  • Do you expect academics to do market research?

    Yes, academics or their departments will be required to take responsibility for market research of any new offerings, with assistance. Part of the funding provided will go towards market research. The academic conveners will be in a particularly good position to contribute to the investigation of the market potential of any offerings. Professional assistance will be provided to assist the university make appropriate decisions.

  • Is it too late to get into online learning and is the market being saturated?

    Online education is part of the future of higher education provision and it is still in the early phase of development - particularly in South Africa. But it is true, there is already some competition in South Africa and globally (like there is in all forms of educational provision), and it means that UCT should carefully consider its choice of programmes.

  • Are we supposed to support new students or move existing students to online?

    For the undergraduate course offerings - we are exploring where online learning can provide enhancements or improvements to our existing students’ teaching and learning experiences.

    For postgraduate programmes - we contend that online postgraduate programmes offer UCT an opportunity to appeal to a different group of students - often people who are not willing or able to study through traditional face-to-face forms of learning.  These programmes should aim to enroll new students.

  • Are we going to charge international students the same fees as South African students? Will international students still have to pay a levy?

    The decision about fees and the regulations about international students will need to be decided by the university bodies who are responsible for these decisions.  The Online Education Sub-Committee will ensure these matters receive attention.

 

Digital access and technology

  • How are we going to deal with student access and technology issues for online learning?

    Technology access is improving rapidly, but it is also true that there are still many people with poor access (especially in relation to bandwidth and costs of data).  An effective online programme will need to start by establishing the particular constraints of their constituency; and place emphasis on student support. The design of the programme will need to take into account differential access so as not to disadvantage any particular student group.  There are well established methods of providing support to online students - which include alternative methods of accessing and submitting key material; multiple modes of supplying learning material (for example, video or audio or compressing file sizes); advanced notice of key deadlines so students can plan around access problems. Having said that for fully online postgraduate programmes in particular, a basic level of internet access and a device will be a prerequisite for enrolling.

    For online undergraduate courses for currently enrolled on-campus students we will need to monitor what support is needed for each cohort of students. Our current initiatives of providing wifi, continuing negotiation with cellphone providers for zero-rating on university content and procuring devices for particular groups of students try to ensure adequate levels of access.

  • Brightspace is UCT’s new LMS

    Following a detailed and rigorous procurement process with comprehensive input from the UCT community, UCT Council approved the recommendation to adopt D2L Brightspace as UCT’s new Learning Management System. Read more about Brightspace at UCT, including the timeframes for migration and the support which will be provided for this.

 

Collaborations

  • Can we co-create a degree with industry partners?

    There are particular rules about co-creating and co-branding which apply to any degrees at UCT. In many instances, industry collaboration is highly desirable in establishing market need and helping to shape the curriculum.

  • Can we co-create a degree with university partners?

    UCT welcomes collaborative arrangements with other universities. If there is interest in a formal collaboration in terms of joint teaching, co-badging or student sharing, there would have to be the usual process of discussion with the registrar’s office about procedures for formalising partnerships - including how to deal with fees and subsidies.