Do universities have the articulation of college programmes in mind when reviewing their academic curricula?

Abstract

In order to articulate academic programmes from college to university effectively, the curricula of the two institutional structures must be aligned. Studies show that this is not always the case, despite the existence of national and sectoral policies that are intended to promote alignment. In grappling with this reality, this study explored the level of interface of academic programmes between TVET (technical and vocational education and training) colleges and a comprehensive university in South Africa. It also investigated whether, and the extent to which, university policies and actors considered college programmes during their curriculum-review processes. Document analysis and semi-structured interviews were used to gather qualitative data. It was found that, instead of considering college curricula, curriculum review was driven by professional bodies, market demands and relevance. Moreover, institutional actors did not have the required agency to engage with the current misalignment of college–university academic programmes or curricula. The implication is that, while necessary, university policies for promoting academic curricula for articulation and programme interface are not adequate for resolving the problem of the misalignment between college and university curricula. To facilitate the interests of agents in articulation, the articulation officers at institutions of higher learning must ensure that articulation policies are in place in departments and that curriculum designers and related stakeholders are imbued with articulation principles during the review and realignment of curricula.