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: 

Postgraduate Diploma: Transport Studies 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
24402  Postgraduate Diploma: Transport Studies 
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
Postgraduate Diploma  Field 11 - Services  Transport, Operations and Logistics 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  120  Level 8 and above  Level N/A:Pre-2009 was L8+  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 
The primary purpose of establishing the Transport Studies programme in the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment at UCT is to produce graduates with the capacity to apply high level skills and knowledge competently in the field of urban passenger transport planning and management. Recent changes in the legislative and policy environment of transport provision have generated a need for graduates with an appropriate array of inter-disciplinary skills and knowledge, able to contribute effectively to the planning and management of urban passenger transport systems as a component of the broader process of integrated development planning at the local level. The programme is intended to address this need directly.

The secondary purpose of establishing the programme is to enable UCT to capitalise on the opportunity presented by the recent formation of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment to bring teaching and research resources together in an innovative, cross-disciplinary way. This will enable the University to add value to teaching and research in the transport field both regionally and nationally, in particular through the relationship established with the Southern Transportation Centre of Development (STCD - a consortium incorporating an array of tertiary institutions in the Western and Eastern Cape), and to develop its capacity to engage productively with a field of study which is drawing increasing attention internationally. 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
  • An approved qualification in any subject from any recognised tertiary educational institution, together with a minimum of six years' experience in a transport-related field in the case of National Diploma applicants or one year's experience in the case of Higher National Diploma applicants; and
  • A satisfactory level of basic numeracy, equivalent at minimum to a pass in mathematics at Matriculation level with a D (50%) at Higher Grade or B (70%) at Standard Grade. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    N 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    N/A 

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    Cross-field outcomes

    Graduates of the programme are able to:
  • Identify and solve problems.
  • Situate issues in their broader social and ethical context.
  • Manage their time effectively.
  • Work effectively as a member of a group or team.
  • Communicate effectively in oral and written forms.
  • Undertake systematic research.

    General outcomes
  • Undertake exploratory investigations of trends or processes in the urban passenger transport field.
  • Identify and 'frame' planning and management issues in the urban passenger transport field.
  • Formulate appropriate interventive strategies or programmes of action to address specific issues and/or achieve identified goals in the urban passenger transport field.
  • Provide effective advice to decision-makers in the urban passenger transport field.
  • Appreciate the power and responsibility of exercising professional judgement or expertise in the urban passenger transport field.

    Specific outcomes

    Graduates of the programme are able to:
  • Analyse urban passenger transport systems across the various modes and the factors affecting supply and demand both modally and in aggregate.
  • Situate urban passenger transport planning and management issues in the specific context of current and projected patterns of urban development in South Africa as a developing country.
  • Understand the implications of recent national (and provincial) policy directives and legislative requirements for urban passenger transport planning and management in South Africa.
  • Contribute effectively to the preparation of an integrated transport plan (ITP).
  • Undertake assessments or evaluations of urban passenger transport programmes and projects.
  • Analyse and model patterns of urban passenger travel demand.
  • Prepare proposals for implementing urban .assenger transport supply systems management (TSM) and travel demand management (TDM) measures.
  • Prepare local area transport plans (at the neighbourhood or sub-metropolitan scale).
  • Contribute effectively to the planning and management of urban public transport systems.
  • Undertake the basic design of transport infrastructure in local areas including roadways, footways and cycleways.
  • Promote traffic safety in urban transport networks and operating systems. 
    		•

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Assessment Criteria for Cross-field outcomes

    Assessment tests the student's ability to:
  • Specify the parameters of a problem and formulate appropriate ways to address it.
  • Explicitly contextualise issues in social and ethical terms.
  • Schedule work activities efficiently and meet submission/presentation deadlines.
  • Contribute fully to group activities and meet personal responsibilities in preparing group products.
  • Produce coherent, well-structured oral and written presentations and reports and respond systematically to feedback.
  • Formulate a relevant research topic, translate it into a detailed research question/set of questions, design and execute an appropriate research method, and present results or conclusions in a cohe rent, well-structured report (MPhil graduates).

    Assessment Criteria for General outcomes

    Assessment tests the student's ability to:
  • Acquire and analyse relevant data using appropriate quantitative and qualitative methods.
  • Synthesise and interpret the available information using appropriate analytical and normative frameworks.
  • Review the range of possible strategies or actions and select those that are contextually appropriate and normatively relevant to the situation requiring intervention.
  • Establish decision-support systems that enable decision-makers to understand the immediate and broader potential impact of their decisions.
  • Explicitly assess the implications of professional mediation in the decision-making process.

    Assessment Criteria for Specific outcomes

    Assessment tests the student's ability to:
  • Identify trends and their probable outcomes in the operating dynamics of urban passenger transport systems.
  • Explicitly contextualise urban passenger transport planning and management issues in relation to South African urban development patterns and processes.
  • Operationalise the relevant policy directives and legislative requirements in carrying out urban passenger transport planning and management tasks including analysis, proposal formulation and evaluation.
  • Situate specific planning tasks within the mandatory procedural framework for ITPs and formulate appropriately detailed briefs to direct their execution.
  • Apply knowledge of a variety of assessment and evaluation methods including cost-benefit and multi-criteria analysis, as well as more participatory or interactive methods, to assess the impact or consequences of proposed programmes or projects in the broader decision-making context.
  • Select and apply appropriate methods to analyse or project patterns of travel demand; formulate indicators to monitor the performance of transport systems and the impact of policy or management measures.
  • Apply knowledge of a variety of TSM and TDM instruments to influence mobility and modal choice within the framework of specific planning and management objectives.
  • Synthesise a variety of proposals, including traffic calming measures and the provision of pedestrian and cycle networks, into a coherent transport plan at the local area scale.
  • Apply knowledge of the various public transport modes and their operating characteristics to the formulation of proposals to address contextualised planning and management issues.
  • Apply knowledge of the relevant design requirements of specific infrastructural components to formulate detailed project proposals.
  • Analyse traffic safety performance to identify existing or potential problems; apply knowledge of a variety of traffic safety measures including education, the installation of technical devices and the enforcement of operating standards to improve safety performance.

    Integrated Assessment

    Students will be assessed for each course module through a range of methods, including formal examinations, but primarily through the vehicle of group and individual assignments or projects. These will be designed to enable them to demonstrate their critical understanding of the subject matter to which they have been exposed as well as their competence to deal with practice-based problems or issues arising out of that subject matter.

    In addition, students registered for the MPhil qualification will be required to formulate a relevant topic for their research project, translate it into a set of detailed research questions, design and execute an appropriate research method, and present their results or conclusions in carefully structured and coherently argued report. This will provide the opportunity for a 'capstone' assessment of their ability to apply skills and knowledge acquired throughout the programme to a specific issue of theoretical and practical significance. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    N/A 

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    Provision is made to accept students with any first (three year) degree or equivalent qualifications from recognised institutions as candidates for the Postgraduate Diploma. Candidates for the Master of Philosophy will be required to have an Honours or Honours-level equivalent qualification in any programme from recognised institutions.

    Articulation is possible between the PGDip and the MPhil, subject to a recommendation by the Head of Department and Senate approval of any change in registration. Students who have been awarded the PGDip will not be permitted to count the work done for the Diploma towards the MPhil but may be eligible for admission to an MPhil by dissertation only. Diplomates and graduates will also be eligible for admission to related qualifications in cognate disciplines, up to doctoral level.

    Through the STCD framework, and by agreement with the tertiary institutions at which they are registered, suitably qualified non-UCT students will be permitted to select course modules from this programme. 

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    The University of Cape Town has a system of external peer review and evaluation of each course. One aspect of the system is an evaluation of the standards and assessment practices of the programme staff in departments. 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    The academic staff responsible for the programme will act as assessors. They will be used in a manner that is consistent with the quality assurance system of the University of Cape Town. 

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

    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 


    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.