The Council on Higher Education (CHE) is a statutory body established under the provisions of the Higher Education Act [Act 101 of 1997], as amended.  The functions of the CHE under the Higher Education Act are to:

 

1. Advise the Minister of Higher Education and Training on higher education matters;

2. Arrange and coordinate conferences;

3. Through the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC)​

   • Promote quality assurance in higher education;

   • Audit the quality assurance mechanisms of higher education institutions; and

   • Accredit programmes of higher education.

4. Publish information regarding developments in higher education, including reports on the state of higher education, on a regular basis;

5. Promote the access of students to higher education institutions; and

6. Perform any other function conferred or assigned to it in terms of the Act or the National Qualifications Framework Act [Act 67 of 2008].

 

The National Qualifications Framework Act [Act 67 of 2008] expands the mandate of the CHE to include a range of functions related to the development and management of the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework [HEQSF].

 

One of the CHE’s activities in the area of Quality Promotion has been that of organising and hosting workshops and conferences. In 2016, the Southern African Regional Quality Assurance Conference was organised and hosted under the auspices of the Southern African Quality Assurance Network (SAQAN). In 2017, the Southern African Regional Quality Assurance Workshop was organized and hosted with the funding from the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD). 

 

Furthermore, the mandate functions of the CHE as outlined above, include arranging and coordinating conferences.  The Annual Performance Plan (APP) for 2018/19 also lists a conference as one of the deliverable targets for the year.

 

It is against this background that the CHE is organising its Quality Promotion Conference for the 2018/19 financial year. The conference is planned to take place from 26 to 28 February, 2019 in Pretoria. The theme is ‘Promoting Academic Integrity in Higher Education’.