Investigating expansion of doctoral education in South African universities
Balancing numbers with quality
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20853/40-5-8524Keywords:
funding-driven pressures,, doctoral studies, quality, quantity, commodificationAbstract
Global trends suggest an unprecedented drive to double the number of doctoral graduates to meet increasing labour-market demands in the knowledge-driven, competitive economy, alongside the rise of commodification. This enthusiasm has unfolded alongside shrinking markets and declining government funding for tertiary education. Issues and questions that foreground the article's discussion include: first, what internal and external quality assurance policies and practices are, or should be, in place to safeguard the quality of the expanded doctoral programme in South Africa? Second, how are current internal and external quality assurance policies and practices of doctoral programmes implemented in the context of institutional autonomy and academic freedom at institutional levels? Third, what national strategies should be in place to mediate between increased funding to expand doctoral programmes and institutional capacity in a differentiated system? This article examines internal and external quality assurance policies and practices in the expanded doctoral studies in South Africa in the third decade of higher education transformation. It argues that, contrary to the common belief about the struggle between internal and external quality assurance mechanisms, these policies and practices need to co-exist at the institutional level.
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