Book LaunchThe Doctorate in South Africa

Presentation by Nico Cloete at the launches inCape Town at the Hildebrand Restaurant on 27 November 2015 and inGauteng at the Irene Country Lodge on 2 December 2015

Importance of the PhD Worldwide, in Africa and in South Africa, the importance of the doctorate has increased disproportionally in relation to the proportion it contributes to the overall graduate output over the last decade. This attention is not only concerned with the traditional role of the PhD as training to become an academic, rather it focuses on the increasingly important role that higher education – particularly high-level skills – is perceived to play in national development.1. Castells – the university as engine of development in the knowledge

economy (1991 Kuala Lumpur, World Bank; UWC 2001).2. Knowledge more important than capital or materials. WEF: Talent, not

capital is the primary source of competitive advantage. 3. In developed countries there is a debate about more or less PhDs (Stop the

PhD factories) but these countries already have high proportions of PhDs.4. In developing countries such China (50 000 pa), Korea, Brazil, India increase

in PhDs is part of the national development plan. 5. In Africa Ms Zuma (AU commissioner) – Africa must produce tens of

thousands of PhDs – as long as they stay in Africa.6. NDP 2030 and Minister Pandor 2014 DST Budget speech, SA must

produce 5000 graduates per year and will ask government for R5 billion (before FeesMustFall).

Unique Combination of Studies (CREST)

This book is unique in the area of research into doctoral studies because it draws on a large number of studies conducted by CHET and CREST from 2003.

CREST’s first study dates back to 2003 when it did a case study at Stellenbosch but its first major investigation into the state of the doctorate in South Africa began in 2008 when it was commissioned by the Academy of Science of South Africa to conduct five studies on the doctorate. (Recognise Daya)

CREST was commissioned by DST in 2014 to conduct a study of the progression and retention rates of SA post-graduate studies, which included a tracking of students from Bachelors to Honours to Masters to Doctorate and a survey of 3000 students about their experiences. Special Thanks to Dr Thomas auf der Heyde, DDG of DST.

CREST Staff: Astrid Valentine, Lynn Lorenzen, Marthie van Niekerk, Milandre van Lill, Nelius Boshoff, Megan James and Rein Treptow.

CHET Around 2009 CHET started a series of dialogues, with participation from the CHE(Cheryl was the Chief Executive Officer) and a number of higher education policy researchers. These dialogues resulted in two funded projects; John Butler-Adam from Ford and Claudia Frittelli from Carnegie.

In addition to these studies, much of the evidence base for the book comes from a massive database on all doctoral students post 1996 (foreign students post 2000) constructed from HEMIS by Charles Sheppard for CHET. This included a 7 year tracer study of the 2006 and 2007 cohorts.

Acknowledgement must be given to Ms Jean Skene, Mr Jacques Appelgryn and Mr Richard Nempandoni of the Management Information Directorate in the DHET for their assistance in preparing and providing the data sets for analysis

CHET: Philani Jooste and Jill Sloan for editing, Kathy Graham and Marlene Titus (CHEC) financial management; Linda Benwell, Letitia Muller and Jackie at Millennium Travel; Karen McGregor World University News; François van Schalkwyk (African Minds); Angela for organising everything and Ian Bunting and Charles for data and policy.

Qualitative Study: CHET /CREST

The qualitative study: The successful cultivation of social science and humanities doctoral scholarship in South Africa (Ford) consisted of case study analyses of highly productive departments in the social sciences and humanities. The first criterion for selection was that at least 20 graduates in that field over the ten-year period from 2000 to 2009, plus graduation rates and doctoral enrolments and progression over the ten-year period. The list of Universities and Departments are in Appendix 1 called Methodology.

25 Departments in 10 disciplines from 13 universities were selected, they account for 90% of the higher education system's doctoral graduates in social sciences and humanities over the ten-year period.

The methodology of the study was informed by a Literature Review on Models of the PhD (Prof Johann Louw and Johan Muller) – available on the CHET Website.

On-site interviews were conducted, recorded, analysed and written up by Prof. Gillian Godsell (Wits) and Prof Johann Louw (UCT).

Seminar to Discuss Conceptual Framework

During a seminar in May 2014 entitled The Doctorate in South Africa: Policies, Discourses and Statistics (Cape Town with 60 participants) met to discuss the conceptual framework of the book and the researchers presented selected data and short reports on the qualitative study. The research group invited a number of responses from experts who are familiar with the South African higher education context and have themselves been involved in PhD supervision.

1. Prof. De la Rey (Vice Chancellor Pretoria)2. Prof. Badat (then Vice Chancellor of Rhodes University)3. Dr Butler-Adam (Ford Foundation Programme Officer)4. Prof. Moja (New York University) 5. Prof. Langa (Eduardo Modlane and University Western Cape)6. Profs Stensaker and Maassen (University of Oslo)

This seminar was invaluable to the final conceptualisation of the book and also provided an impetus towards publication. Transcripts of their presentations are in Appendix 2 of the book.

Policy Pressures on Doctorate Production in SA

Incremental Change and a Paradigm Shift

1. The core and determining feature of doctoral education in South Africa is the fact that 60% of all students enrol for their studies while they work. For the humanities this proportion is 75%; for the natural sciences it is 55%.

2. The multiple paths qualitative study, and growth and efficiency indicators show that institutions and departments have put in place strategies and practices that have led to incremental changes and improvements in the organisation and management of the doctorate - mostly by addressing the traditional research-based (supervisor-candidate) model for mainly part-time students.

3. We believe that the strategies that are currently being employed – even if they become more structured and internalised in the productive universities – will at best ensure that current growth, efficiency rates and quality levels could be maintained

4. But, SA will not reach the targets set by the DST and NDP 2030; for that we propose that consideration be given to a more radical strategy that will change the dominant model of doctoral education in the country.

A Paradigm Shift 1. We argue for establishing cohorts of full-time doctoral students who would

be ‘employed’ as junior staff members at SA universities. The proposal is that we aim to reverse the current full-time to part-time ratio of 40:60 to 60% full-time and 40% part-time. In real numbers this would mean that about 9 600 of the current cohort of doctoral students would be able to study full-time (compared to about 6 400): an increase of about 3 000.

2. A fulltime model would enable experimentation with different models of doctorate management, such as graduate schools and with possibly more course work, more integration and group/laboratory approaches.

3. The full-time study model also allows for much more dedicated and regular supervisory engagement, more intensive course work, supplementary training in methodology and writing skills, and for pursuing team- or group supervision.

4. Even if the cost of a doctorate would at least triple, it would enable the candidates to complete within 3-4 years (instead of 5-7) and will result in cohorts that are generally younger when they graduate (early 30s rather than early 40s) the gains begin to offset the costs. And in addition, we are likely to produce more high-quality graduates and research!

Incremental Change and a Paradigm Shift

1. The core and determining feature of doctoral education in South Africa is the fact that 60% of all students enrol for their studies while they work. For the humanities this proportion is 75%; for the natural sciences it is 55%.

South Africa a PhD Hub for Africa

SA went from 16% international doctoral students in 2000 (first year of stats) to 43% by 2012 – by international comparisons a very successful internationalization ‘policy’, without having an internationalization policy.

In 2000, 10% of the graduates were form the rest of Africa, but by 2012 it was 41.7%. The average annual growth rate of graduates from the rest of Africa is twice (21%) as high as the (9.8%) for South Africans. By 2012 there were more (498) graduates from the rest of Africa than Africans from South Africa (323). (See poster.)

Factors that make SA Attractive PhD Destination

Four key factors that contribute to the possibility of South Africa becoming a PhD hub for the continent:

1. The considerable investments the South African government is making, and intends to make, towards increasing PhD production

2. SA is a bargain – on average 3 times cheaper than UK and 5 times cheaper than top end US universities.

3. Pent up demand in Africa, 7 HERANA universities enrolled 28 600 masters students in 2013, but only 3 200 doctoral students.

4. Postgraduate students from elsewhere in Africa are seen as attractive to many South African universities – transformation, efficiency and quality.

Obstacles1. Rest of Africa Africans don’t count as Transformation2. Uncoordinated interdepartmental and inter-university policies3. Inability to make a policy decisions about linking higher education to a

globalising knowledge economy with brain circulation or to continue a brain drain (or worse, send them back) nationalist economy.

Differentiated System The question is not does SA have a differentiated system, but exactly how differentiated is it? Data below is for 2012.

Growth - the top 7 universities produced 68% of the doctoral graduates and the bottom 6 only 1%. 5 universities grew at more than 20% (2008-2012) period, while 3 had 0% growth.

Efficiency - 4 universities had a completion rate above 55% after seven years, and 11 lower than 35% (2008-2012 period)

Transformation - 5 universities produced more than 90 black doctoral graduates each, 6 universities only 15. 5 universities produced more than 75 female graduates each, and 6 universities just 13 in total

Quality - 6 universities had more than 50% of staff with PhDs and 5 fewer than 20%.

KwaZulu-Natal and Stellenbosch produced more than 100 black PhDs each and both graduated more than 90 women. (See graph on poster.)

Tough Policy Choices 1. Should the seven institutions in Group One (30% of the universities who

produce 70% of the graduates) be regarded as having an ‘embedded research culture’ with strong doctoral programmes and what are the policy levers for further strengthening such universities?

2. Should the six institutions that produce one percent of the doctoral graduates be allowed to continue to offer doctoral programmes?

3. SA cannot meet the targets set by the NDP and DST without attracting supervisors and students from the rest of Africa. Can this be done in the prevailing national mood?

4. Can the country afford not to incentivise the highly productive universities to produce more black women with doctorates?

Finally, instead of promoting single imperatives (discourses) we need a change in approach to address multiple imperatives simultaneously. (See poster.)

Nico Cloete Johann Mouton Charles Sheppard

Data from CHET, CREST & African HE Open Datawww.chet.org.za/data/