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SAQA All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
125497  Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education 
ORIGINATOR
University of Witwatersrand 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Postgraduate Diploma  Field 05 - Education, Training and Development  Higher Education and Training 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  120  Not Applicable  NQF Level 08  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered  EXCO 0638/26  2026-03-10  2029-03-10 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2030-03-10   2033-03-10  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:
The purpose of the Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education is to professionalise university teaching to enhance undergraduate and postgraduate learner success through a formal professional learning qualification for academic staff. It aims to provide academics with a relevant tertiary teaching qualification in line with international trends.

The qualification is designed to foster a scholarly and professional approach to university teaching, pedagogical approaches, assessment, and curriculum development and design. It is well placed to address learner learning in a changing teaching and learning environment, drawing on successful interventions in embedding academic literacy practices and pedagogically driven technological strategies into the academic curriculum.

This qualification will provide lecturers with the opportunity to gain an accredited qualification that is comparable to those offered at top universities globally. Specific aims are to assist academics to:
  • Strengthen their roles in teaching, assessment, curriculum development and course design.
  • Update and extend their working theories and practices as educators.
  • Deepen engagement with the university as a rapidly changing site of research and scholarship.

    Upon completion of this qualification, qualifying learners will be able to:
  • Apply relevant theories of learning to the selection of teaching approaches appropriate for specific learning contexts.
  • Demonstrate critical self-awareness as a university teacher.
  • Evaluate, select, and apply appropriate assessment methods in order to achieve a variety of teaching aims.

    Rationale:
    High-quality, effective university teachers are needed to improve the retention and throughput of learners at both undergraduate and graduate levels, an issue of national and institutional importance. This qualification is designed to enable academics to acquire the threshold knowledge and skills to be competent university teachers. The content of this qualification is grounded in sound scholarship and applied to the professional practice of university teaching. Learners who complete this qualification can contribute meaningfully to departmental, school, faculty, and university-level committees that develop and implement policies and practices to improve learning, teaching, assessment, and curriculum design in higher education. This qualification aims to build a critical mass of academics who are critically reflective, reflexive, who value research-informed teaching as well as research and scholarship, and who ensure better teaching and thus effective learning.

    The process of developing and accrediting the qualification is an important opportunity to harness the considerable expertise across faculties and the teaching and learning units in the University to contribute to the growing field of higher education through a collaborative and consultative process. The qualification will contribute to lecturers' capacity to respond to the calls for decolonised and transformative education qualifications as well as to address challenges creatively, like those presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Wits School of Education (WSoE), in conjunction with the Centre for Learning, Teaching and Development (CLTD), is committed to working with other institutions nationally and to operating in a cost-effective and pedagogically sound manner.

    Offering the qualification through two modes of delivery will allow the course coordinators and facilitators greater flexibility and enable the qualification designers to create reusable educational resources. In the longer term, this will show lecturers how to create more streamlined courses with a better flow that will be easier for learners to navigate and can reduce their sense of being overloaded. The two modes of delivery will enable learning to take place in different contexts and at the participants' own pace while using diversified teaching and assessment approaches, supported by technology.

    Most academics in higher education are required to teach without having had any formal education in university teaching. As a result, their effectiveness in promoting and assessing learner learning may not be optimal. The qualification is an NQF level 8 qualification designed to equip academics with the knowledge and skills to be competent, excellent university teachers. The content of the qualification is based on sound scholarship and research, which is applied to the professional practice of university teaching. Once participants have completed the Postgraduate Diploma, they can progress vertically to the Masters or PhD in Higher Education Studies. 
    		•

    LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
    Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
    RPL for access:
  • Where applicants do not meet the minimum admission requirements, recognition of prior learning may apply to grant access to the qualification.
  • RPL will be applied according to the Recognition of prior learning and Credit Accumulation and Transfer policies of the institution. The process will be managed by the central RPL Office in collaboration with the Faculty of Humanities.
  • Learners will be evaluated in accordance with the national and institutional policies against NQF Exit Level 8 competencies. No more than 10% of a cohort group will be allowed admission for the degree through RPL.

    Entry Requirements:
  • Bachelor of Education, NQF Level 7.
    Or
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Further Education and Training Teaching, NQF Level 7.
    Or
  • Bachelor of Education in Senior Phase and FET Teaching, NQF Level 7.
    Or
  • Postgraduate Certificate: Higher Education and Training, NQF Level 7. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    This qualification consists of the following compulsory and elective modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 8, totalling 120 Credits.

    For the contact mode of delivery, learners must complete 4 compulsory courses of 30 credits each. For the distance mode, the contact equivalent courses are split into three courses of 10 credits each.

    Compulsory Modules, NQF Level 8, 200 Credits:
  • Applying a Reflective and Scholarly Teaching Practice, 10 Credits.
  • Student Learning in Higher Education, 10 Credits.
  • Assessment Practices in Higher Education, 10 Credits.
  • Assessment Innovation in Higher Education, 10 Credits.
  • Fundamentals of Assessment in Higher Education, 10 Credits.
  • Curriculum Development in High Education, 10 Credits.
  • Macro and Micro Alignment in Curriculum, 10 Credits.
  • Course Design in Higher Education, 10 Credits.
  • Assessment in Higher Education, 30 Credits.
  • Curriculum Development and Course Designing in Higher Education, 30 Credits.
  • New Directions in Higher Education, 30 Credits.
  • Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 30 Credits.

    Elective Module, NQF Level 8, 30 Credits (Select three modules):
  • Introduction to Post Graduate Supervision, 10 Credits.
  • Advanced Post Graduate Supervision, 10 Credits.
  • Research in Higher Education Practice [Part 1], 10 Credits.
  • Research in Higher Education Practice [Part 2], 10 Credits.
  • Global Trends in Higher Education, 10 Credits. 
    		•

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    1. Apply relevant theories of learning to the selection of teaching approaches appropriate for specific learning contexts.
    2. Demonstrate critical self-awareness as a university teacher.
    3. Evaluate, select and apply appropriate assessment methods in order to achieve a variety of teaching aims.
    4. Apply key concepts of curriculum development and course design to map out a curriculum in which the macro and micro elements are constructively aligned.
    5. Integrate research on learning and teaching in higher education with practice to produce a scholarly work. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    The following Associated Assessment Criteria are provided in an integrated manner:
  • Critique an appropriate selection of learning theories in relation to disciplinary requirements and institutional diversity.
  • Reflect on a critical incident involving the self as part of being a university teacher and consider the factors that enabled professional growth.
  • Demonstrate the principles and practices of constructive alignment and curriculum congruence within disciplinary contexts.
  • Create a curriculum conceptual framework to analyse and review a curriculum mapping process of a course.
  • Produce a publishable teaching and learning article on key aspects of teaching, assessment, and course design.

    INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT
    The assessment strategy for this qualification is aligned with and mediates the Institution's Senate Standing Orders on Assessment of Learner Learning and additional procedures documents to course learners.

    In all modules, there is constructive alignment among the intended learning outcomes, the teaching approaches and educational activities, and the assessment tasks. Assessment tasks are an important course component for monitoring, contributing to, and measuring learner achievement of the intended learning outcomes. In order to help learners monitor their own learning, assessment is administered frequently, and accompanied by sufficiently helpful feedback, so that learners are supported in making steady progress towards the achievement of learning outcomes. Assessment, therefore, is an integral part of course design. At the same time, there is conscious modelling of authentic assessment strategies to promote learner learning for learners who are lecturers and assessors in their own disciplines.

    Learners are provided with a module guide at the beginning of a course, which indicates the assessments that will contribute to the learner's final course mark, including the relative weighting of each assessment. The assessment structure, that is, the number, form and relative weightings of the assessments, must be approved by the school. If changes to the assessment structure are made after a course has begun, written permission to make the proposed changes must be obtained from learners in the course who are participating satisfactorily, and the new assessment structure must be approved by the school. Should changes to the assessment structure of a course be necessary as a result of circumstances beyond the control of the school, the changes must be approved by the School and the Faculty and communicated in writing to the learners enrolled in the course as soon as possible.

    A range of assessment forms and practices are used to promote and measure diverse learning outcomes for diverse learners in line with the assessment standing orders and procedures. The design and implementation of assessment tasks consider the needs of learners who come with a variety of cultural, language and educational backgrounds, as well as those of learners with disabilities, in order to promote inclusivity. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    This qualification was compared to the following international qualification:

    Country: United Kingdom
    Institution: University of London
    Qualification title: Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
    Duration 1 to 5 years
    Level 7
    Credits: 30 Credits

    Entry requirements:
  • Hold an undergraduate degree which is considered comparable to a UK degree, in any subject, from an institution acceptable to the University.
    Or
  • Be currently teaching or supporting learning on a higher education qualification. Teaching can be part-time or full-time.

    Purpose:
    The Purpose of the qualification is to provides an opportunity for participants to develop skills, understanding of and strategies in teaching, learning and assessment in face-to-face teaching, engage with successful digital and online learning and develop your skills in this area through direct hands-on experience, and work with colleagues across the globe in a community of practice.

    Qualification structure:
    Modules:
  • Supporting learning, teaching and assessment.

    Elective modules (choose one from the following):
  • Enhancing learning, teaching and assessment (Open modal with additional information).
    Or
  • Strategic Approaches to Careers & Employability in Higher Education.

    Similarities:
  • Both qualifications are specifically designed for individuals teaching or tutoring in the higher education sector.
  • University of London is also well-structured. Both qualifications require an undergraduate qualification in the relevant field of study.

    Difference:
  • The UK qualification consists of two main 30-credit modules: one focused on supporting learning, teaching, and assessment, and the other on enhancing these areas. In contrast, the South African qualification includes both compulsory and elective modules, totalling 120 credits.

    Country: Australia
    Institution: University of Sydney
    Qualification title: Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies

    Entry requirements:
  • Bachelor's degree or higher in a cognate discipline from the University of Sydney or equivalent.
    Or
  • Bachelor honours degree or postgraduate qualification in a non-cognate discipline from the University of Sydney or equivalent qualification.
    Or
  • Bachelor's degree in a non-cognate discipline from the University of Sydney.
    Or
  • Equivalent qualification, and professional experience equivalent to two years full-time, in a field considered by the faculty to be appropriate to the program of studies.

    Purpose:
    The Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies (Higher Education) is primarily designed to introduce university teachers to current principles, practices, debates and research in higher education. Candidates are encouraged to develop scholarly, research-led approaches to teaching while engaging in activities and tasks aimed at cultivating critical reflection about higher education.

    Similarities:
  • The admission requirements are similar to those in South Africa, where a Bachelor of Education degree at NQF level 7 is necessary.
  • At the University of Sydney (US), the entry requirements include a Bachelor of Education from the University of Sydney or an equivalent qualification.
  • Additionally, applicants must have either completed postgraduate studies or have professional experience equivalent to one year of full-time work in a field deemed appropriate by the faculty or the program of study.

    Differences:
  • To qualify for the South African qualification, a bachelor's degree, which typically takes three years to complete, is required. Additionally, the entry requirement for the Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies (Higher Education) at the University of Sydney is a postgraduate qualification equivalent to one year.

    Conclusion:
    Both the international qualification, to which the SA qualification is being compared, align well with the SA qualification. 
    		•

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    This qualification provides the following articulation options.

    Horizontal Articulation:
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Education, NQF Level 8.
  • Bachelor of Education Honours, Level 8.

    Vertical Articulation:
  • Master of Education, NQF Level 9.

    Diagonal Articulation:
    There are no diagonal articulation possibilities for this qualification. 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A. 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A. 

    NOTES 
    N/A. 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. University of Witwatersrand 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.