The Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) aims to establish the Western Cape as a strong higher education region which, through systemic inter-institutional cooperation and academic programme collaboration, will be
- distinctively responsive to regional, national and international developments in the knowledge economy of the 21st century
- sensitive to historical realities in promoting equity across its institutions and
- cost-effective and of high quality.
This academic consortium comprises the four public universities in the Western Cape. All of the universities are within a 40-minute range from each other by road and share a single automated library system.
Since the beginning of 2012, the University of South Africa (UNISA) has held observer status at the CHEC Board meetings. Where possible, UNISA is included in CHEC activities.
The CHEC Board of Directors comprises four senior executives, usually the deputy vice chancellors charged with academic affairs, and the CHEC chief executive officer. The Board operates under delegated authority from the Councils of the four universities.
Click here for more information about CHEC.
Graduate Survey Launched by Universities in the Western Cape
The four universities in the Western Cape – UCT, CPUT, UWC and Stellenbosch University –have completed a large-scale graduate tracer survey. The survey, which was conducted under the auspices of the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) aimed to reach 24 000 graduates who acquired their degrees (undergraduate and postgraduate) and diplomas from the four universities in 2010.
The main purpose of the survey is to better understand the varied pathways into work for the graduates of the four universities. It is anticipated that the findings of the survey will assist the universities to formulate strategies to improve the link between education and employment for the benefit of future generations of university students.
It is anticipated that the final survey report will be finalised in the first quarter of 2013.
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