SAQA

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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED QUALIFICATION:

Bachelor of Science Honours in Property Studies

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
119722	Bachelor of Science Honours in Property Studies
ORIGINATOR
University of Witwatersrand
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
-			HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework
QUALIFICATION TYPE	FIELD		SUBFIELD
Honours Degree	Field 06 - Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology		Engineering and Related Design
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 0410/22	2022-08-04	2025-08-04
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2026-08-04		2029-08-04

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 replaces:

Qual ID	Qualification Title	Pre-2009 NQF Level	NQF Level	Min Credits	Replacement Status
88282	Bachelor of Property Studies Honours	Not Applicable	NQF Level 08	143	Complete

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION

The Bachelor of Science Honours in Property Studies aims to provide advanced knowledge in Property Studies. After completion the learner will have acquired comprehensive, systematic, and integrated knowledge and techniques in property investment, property management, facilities management, property valuation and appraisal, research, and teamwork skills. Research forms an integral part of the curriculum that will equip learners with the skills to collect and analyse data, using quantitative and qualitative methodology to produce and communicate research findings and recommendations at an appropriate level.

The qualification aims to:

Provide learners with qualifying-level knowledge, skills, and competence appropriate to a vocation in Property Studies.

Equip learners with a foundation for further intellectual development and opportunities for gainful employment and rewarding contributions to society.

Provide learners with the ability to solve well defined and frequently encountered problems, using well established procedures and techniques.

Contribute towards meeting the prerequisites for professional registration with the South African Council for the Property Valuers Profession and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, as well as to proceed for further postgraduate studies.

Provide the profession with graduates who possess contextually specific fundamental skills, thereby facilitating upliftment, empowerment, and transformation.

To achieve the required outcomes in the curriculum, the modules and topics are coherently integrated in terms of the educational aims as articulated in the qualification outlines, and the sequencing of the topics as well as the learning interactions and connections between modules and topics vertically and horizontally. In this regard, the pedagogies for each module are aligned with the Purpose and Outcomes.

Career opportunities are available in related fields such as Real Estate, Property Development, Property Investment and Property Valuation, which have been classified by the Government as being scarce skills. In both private and public sectors, graduates will find employment in companies such as banks, consultancy firms and Government departments from National to Municipal levels. Career opportunities also exist with housing associations and utility companies.

Rationale:
South Africa, as a developing country, should strive to improve and maintain its physical and economic development, and further development is essential to meet the aspirations of society. Such development is dependent on the provision of the appropriate forms of infrastructure, facilities, and processes. But more importantly, there is a dire need to develop, manage and maintain these facilities in order to provide efficient functional service. Provision of these skills and competencies is dependent on the availability of graduates in this important field.

Property and Real Estate studies have in recent years been introduced in South Africa. Qualifications in the field have been offered at tertiary institutions as a component of Quantity Surveying, Town Planning or Commerce.
The need for Property Studies has increased due to the specialised skills required in the rapidly growing property industry. Professional Bodies such as the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA), the South African Council of Shopping Centres (CSCM) and the Institute of Property Practitioners of South Africa (IPPSA) have offered short courses to improve skills in the property industry. However, the need for an academic and professional qualification to be offered at tertiary institutions is required to fill the gap for professionals in the property industry, both in the private and public institutions that own, develop, use, or manage land and property. In this regard, the University has developed an Honours Degree in which graduates, proceeding from the Bachelor of Science Construction Studies undergraduate qualification, can specialise and advance in Real Estate in order to contribute to the environment in which we live, its development, technological, legal, economic, and financial implications of modern land use and development.

The new qualification provides learners with advanced knowledge gained both in the classroom and real-life work situations. It also allows for articulation into further studies at Master's and eventually, Doctoral levels.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

Recognition of Prior Learning:
The institution has an approved Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy which is applicable with equivalent qualifications for admission into the qualification. RPL will be applied to accommodate applicants who qualify. RPL thus provides alternative access and admission to qualifications, as well as advancement within qualifications. RPL may be applied for access, credits from modules and credits for or towards the qualification.

RPL for access:

Learners who do not meet the minimum entrance requirements or the required qualification that is at the same NQF level as the qualification required for admission may be considered for admission through RPL.

To be considered for admission in the qualification based on RPL, applicants should provide evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates that they have acquired the relevant knowledge, skills, and competencies through formal, non-formal and/or informal learning to cope with the qualification expectations should they be allowed entrance into the qualification.

RPL for exemption of modules

Learners may apply for RPL to be exempted for modules that form part of the qualification. For a learner to be exempted from a module, the learner needs to provide sufficient evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates that competency was achieved for the learning outcomes that are equivalent to the learning outcomes of the module.

RPL for credit:

Learners may also apply for RPL for credit for or towards the qualification, in which they must provide evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates prior learning through formal, non-formal and/or informal learning to obtain credits towards the qualification.

Credit shall be appropriate to the context in which it is awarded and accepted.

Entry Requirements:
The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is:

Bachelor of Science, NQF Level 7.
Or

A relevant qualification in the related field, NQF Level 7.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

QUALIFICATION RULES

This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 8 totalling 143 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 8,143 Credits

Treatise, 39 Credits.

Facilities Management, 18 Credits.

Property Marketing and Management, 17 Credits.

Advanced Property Finance and Investment, 17 Credits.

Advanced Property Valuation, 17 Credits.

Property Economics, 17 Credits.

Simulated Project, 18 Credits.

Practical Training, 0 Credits.

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

1. Analyse and solve problems related to the property and real estate sector.
2. Manage legal, commercial, entrepreneurial and management issues.
3. Communicate effectively on all matters within the property and real estate sector.
4. Apply and use information technology appropriate to the built environment.
5. Conduct research within the context of the built environment, including consideration of interdisciplinary aspects.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:

Create and innovate systems of identification, assessment, formulation and solving of convergent and divergent problems encountered in the day-to-day work of the property professional.

Assess the impact, risks, and benefits of property.

Exercise judgement commensurate with knowledge and experience.

Perform management tasks including analysis and evaluation of alternative solutions to problems or queries.

Identify and solve open-ended property valuation, investment, and management problems.

Apply techniques and principles of valuation, appraisal, and management to property.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:

Demonstrate an understanding of management skills.

Apply management principles appropriately for managing resources in facilities and maintenance of properties.

Apply processes of quality control and assurance within relevant legislation.

Adopt processes within the requirements of relevant legislation to ensure that client needs are met, and customers are satisfied.

Demonstrate understanding of legal environmental, social and community issues as they relate to properties and facilities.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:

Demonstrate knowledge, ideas or concepts through effective writing and formatting of applicable letters and reports.

Range of effective writing includes, but is not limited to: Excellence in spelling, grammar, use of vocabulary, citing and referencing sources.

Impart information at meetings, interviews, in negotiations or telephonically, using presentations or any other appropriate technology.

Develop discernment through effective listening.

Use basic techniques of graphical communication.

Range of graphical communication includes, but is not limited to: Plans, diagrams, maps drawn to various scales, pictures, graphs, and models.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:

Use relevant information systems with competence.

Range of relevant information systems includes, but is not limited to: Software systems, facilities management packages, general construction and/or design packages, communication systems, specific software for valuation and appraisal.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5:

Implement sound research techniques, identify research problems, and formulate hypotheses, objectives, and methodologies.

Conduct research, draw conclusions, and make recommendations.

Participate in teamwork, recognise the roles, and consider motives and viewpoints of team members.

Integrated Assessment:
Formative Assessment will take place during seminar presentations, discussions, and tutorials. Learners are expected to participate in self-assessment, peer assessment and assessment by members of the academic staff.

The summative component will take the form of a research project, which has design and methodological components. The assessment will thus integrate practical, theoretical, and reflective competence and will be examined as an integrated piece of work in an oral examination, incorporating verbal, written and visual submissions. In addition, there will be objective and structured practical and oral examinations which will require integration of information from different areas of the content.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY

Wittenborg Business University in the Netherlands offers a Degree with European 240 EC Credits. The Bachelor International Business Administration with the chosen specialisation (Minor) of Real Estate Management consists of modules that include:

Real Estate.

Value and Investment.

Property and Inheritance Law.

Real Estate and Taxation in the EU.

Real Estate and Economics.

Buildings and Construction.

Architecture and Design.

The University of Queensland, Australia, offers an Honours Degree in Real Estate and Development. The graduates of the Bachelor of Business Management (Honours) in Real Estate and Development can expect to find employment in the following areas: Property investment; Property development; Property management and Valuation.

The qualification consists of following modules:

Regulatory Frameworks for Environmental Management and Planning.

Applied Demography.

Research Philosophy.

Design and Implementation.

Qualitative Business Research Methods.

Quantitative Business Research Methods.

Honours Thesis.

Four Elective modules selected from a given group.

This South African qualification compares very favourably with the qualifications offered in the Netherlands and Australia. The length of the qualification, the content, practical training, methods of evaluation, as well as the intensity of the training are fairly similar.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

Horizontal Articulation:

Bachelor of Science Honours in Geographical Information Systems, NQF Level 8.

Bachelor of City Planning Honours, NQF Level 8.

Vertical Articulation:

Master of Architecture, NQF Level 9.

Master of City and Regional Planning, NQF Level 9.

MODERATION OPTIONS

N/A

CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS

N/A

NOTES

N/A

LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION:

When qualifications are replaced, some (but not all) of their learning programmes are moved to the replacement qualifications. If a learning programme appears to be missing from here, please check the replaced qualification.

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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.

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