Is Goode Still Good?

Abstract

AbstractSouth Africa became a co-signatory to the Washington Accord for engineers in 1999, and later a founding co-signatory to the Sydney Accord for technologists in 2001 and the Dublin Accord for technicians in 2002, and plays a leading role in engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper describes the evolution of engineering education in South Africa, the impact of an unprecedented educational transition caused by recent changes in national policy, which might influence mobility and the international recognition of qualifications, and an industry-informed future direction for engineering education at South African universities of technology.Background: It was only in 1968 that the Professional Engineers Act governing the professional registration of engineers was promulgated in South Africa. The formal recognition of other members of the engineering team and associated qualifications, in particular technicians and technologists, began only after the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry into the Training, Use and Status of Engineering Technicians in the Republic of South Africa, commonly known as the Goode Report after the chairman of the committee, R.C.J. Goode, was published in 1978. International recognition was attained only much later, when in 1999 the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) became a co-signatory to the Washington Accord for engineers, and later a founding co-signatory to the Sydney and Dublin Accords. These initiatives eased the mobility of engineering practitioners and the recognition of qualifications in co-signatory countries.Purpose: Although the adoption of the recommendations of the Goode Report created a stable environment for the training of the engineering team in the Southern African environment, in December 2012, the Minister of Higher Education and Training approved a revised Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF) published in the Government Gazette No. 36003, which is creating a disruptive influence on the qualifications offered by universities of technology, international comparability, and industry expectations. This paper investigates whether the core recommendations of the Goode Report are still relevant, valid, and worth considering during a time when Universities of Technology (UoTs) in South Africa are experiencing an unprecedented transition which may influence mobility and the international recognition of qualifications.Method: A questionnaire, which focused on the expected competencies and attributes required from South African University of Technology (UoT) graduates, was developed. The graduate competencies and attributes were derived from those defined by the International Engineering Alliance. The questionnaire also probed stakeholder views on Work Integrated Learning (WIL), currently a standard component of South African university of technology qualifications. The questionnaire was distributed to 110 stakeholders, and 54% responded.Results: Based on the analysis of the stakeholder questionnaires, it is clear that there is a niche for South African universities of technology to focus on Sydney Accord type qualifications for technologists. Although there was overwhelming support for workplace-based WIL, significant uncertainty regarding long-term industry partnerships to ensure suitable workplace placement for students, emerged.KeywordsAccreditationBaccalaureate institutionsInternational comparabilityDublin AccordEngineering curriculumSydney AccordUniversities of technologyWashington AccordWork Integrated Learning