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 THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE:

Bachelor of Social Science Honours: Social Policy and Management

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
15703	Bachelor of Social Science Honours: Social Policy and Management
ORIGINATOR
University of Cape Town
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education			HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework
QUALIFICATION TYPE	FIELD		SUBFIELD
Honours Degree	Field 03 - Business, Commerce and Management Studies		Generic Management
ABET BAND	MINIMUM CREDITS	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	QUAL CLASS
Undefined	120	Level 7	Level N/A: Pre-2009 was L7	Regular-Provider-ELOAC
REGISTRATION STATUS		SAQA DECISION NUMBER	REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		SAQA 06120/18	2018-07-01	2018-12-31
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2019-12-31		2022-12-31

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

This Honours programme is the first year of postgraduate study in Social Policy and Management. It aims to equip students with knowledge and skills in social planning, management and research consistent with that required by social service professional practice.

Graduates from this programme are expected to either:
(a) Continue with further intensive study at Masters and Doctoral level in Social Policy and Management or a related subject area, or
(b) Gain employment at a junior level in social planning or management in either the public or private social service delivery systems.

Further, the programme equips graduates to address the country`s social development needs by contributing to the planning and management of social services.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

A degree of Bachelor or its equivalent with a better than average pass in the major in the discipline or a cognate discipline.

Senior certificate with Matriculation Exemption or Equivalent university admission qualification.

First degree:
BA/BSocSc

Recognition of prior learning:

Non-graduates who have shown by examination or publication or a record of appropriate training that they have reached a level in the subject equivalent to a bachelors degree may be permitted to register for the degree.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

(a) The Honours graduate is competent to:

Understand and manipulate qualitative and quantitative data within an area of specialization.

Design and conduct research in his or her area of specialization

Produce academic papers that reflect an ability to interrogate the professional literature and engage in critical debate

Find information of professional relevance efficiently and independently;

Use information-technology efficiently and independently; and

Embark on an Honours level research study under supervision.

b) General outcomes:

The Honours graduate is competent to:

Articulate an understanding of an area of specialisation at a high level of abstraction;

Independently apply discipline-based knowledge and practices to an understanding of conceptual and practical problems;

Design and conduct research utilizing the methods of the discipline

Apply the theory and research methods of the discipline to the development of research questions; and

Produce theoretical and research communications that draw on a range of information bases.

c) Specific outcomes:

The Honours graduate is competent to:

Formulate a convincing social/programme planning argument by drawing on appropriate theory, practice and research;

Formulate an organizational theory argument drawing on appropriate theory, practice and research;

Produce critiques of planning approaches adopted by given South African social and economic planning strategies;

Demonstrate an understanding of research theory and practice;

Develop a research proposal that can be successfully implemented at Masters level;

Produce literature review that meets local professional publication requirements;

Design a social service programme plan that can be successfully implemented to address a given social need; and

Conduct an organisational analysis in which at least one major problem is diagnosed and for which a solution is preferred.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

(a) The learner`s achievement of critical cross-field outcomes is assessed formatively during the course through a range of activities, and summatively in the capstone activity outlined under Integrated assessment.

b) The learner`s achievement of general programme outcomes is assessed through a range of formative and summative assessments throughout the course, and particularly in the capstone activity outlined under Integrated assessment.

c) Assessments include theoretical papers, practical reports, and research projects. Formative assessment includes the preparation of term papers in all competence areas listed, presentation of seminars, and a literature review. Summative assessments take the form of written examinations of all theory components (see Integrated Assessment).

Integrated assessment:

The integrated assessment of the Social Policy and Management Honours graduate includes measurement of foundational, reflective, technical and practical competencies. Learners are required to complete a series of professional assignments. These serve both to integrate knowledge and skills learnt during the Honours year for further study at Masters and Doctoral level or to prepare the graduate for practice.

At the Honours level, students will be assessed through both formative and summative methods. Formative methods will include:

Written assignments;
Verbal presentations;
Seminar papers;
Written examinations; and
A literature review.

The specific competencies (as set out in Outcomes and Assessment, Section c) will be assessed through two capstone sites:

i) A combination of the theoretical modules and
ii) a literature review.

These sites capture the full spectrum of specific learning outcomes and related assessment criteria of the Honours Programme in Social Policy and Management.

The assessment is based on the student`s ability to:

Clearly articulate, critically compare and appropriately select for application in a given context, the major concepts contained in organisational, social planning and programme planning theories/approaches;

Juxtapose and critically assess the efficacy or otherwise of social development planning approaches adopted in the formulation of given South African social and economic strategies in a manner that demonstrates an understanding of both the context and the planning approaches adopted;

Clearly articulate and compare the major research approached and formulate an appropriate research strategy to address a given research question;

Write a research proposal that contains a limited literature review, a clearly articulated research question, a well formulated research design, research method(s) and ethical considerations, in such a manner that the research can be readily conducted by the student;

Produce a focussed literature review that is based on a variety of text media in such a manner that it both informs a potential research question and meets requirements for local professional publication;

Design a social service programme to meet a given social development need that is both feasible and that reflects an understanding of context, need, planning process, and demonstrates mastery of programme planning skills; and

Conduct an organisational analysis that addressed a major problem and reflects knowledge of the context and the organization, an understanding and appropriate application of organisational theory, conceptual and analytical thinking that all result in a programme plan that is feasible.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

Title(s) of related qualification(s)

1. MSocSc in Social Policy & Management
2. MSocSc / MPhil by research
3. Interdisciplinary coursework masters programmes (MPhil)

This qualification serves as an entry point to the related qualification(s).

Entry to this qualification in mid-stream:
Not possible.

Exit from qualification in mid-stream:
Credit is given for modules of the course completed.

Other higher education programmes which articulate with the qualification without "going back to square one:"
Subject to the provisions of the Joint Statute, this work may be recognised by another institution in part fulfilment towards a similar degree of honours bachelor.

MODERATION OPTIONS

The University of Cape Town has a system of external peer review and evaluation of each course. One of the aspects of the system is an evaluation of the standards and assessment practices of the department.

CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS

The academic staff of the University of Cape Town will be used in a manner that is consistent with the quality assurance system of the University.

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2006; 2009; 2012; 2015.

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 Cape Town