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:

Masters: Development Planning

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
71753	Masters: Development Planning
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
Master's Degree	Field 12 - Physical Planning and Construction		Physical Planning, Design and Management
ABET BAND	MINIMUM CREDITS	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	QUAL CLASS
Undefined	180	Level 8 and above	NQF Level 09	Regular-Provider-ELOAC
REGISTRATION STATUS		SAQA DECISION NUMBER	REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		SAQA 091/21	2021-07-01	2023-06-30
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2024-06-30		2027-06-30

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:

This Qualification replaces the current second year of the current two year MSc (Development Planning). The two year MSc (Development Planning) is being restructured to comply with the HEQF which sees Masters degrees as one year degrees, following a four year undergraduate or honours degree. As from 2008, Wits has not allowed entrants to the current two year Masters to come in with a three year undergraduate degree, which has affected the number of students who can be admitted. The MScDP provides a professional degree, accredited by the South African Council for Planners.

The Qualification provides a route through which learners with an honours in urban development (with electives in planning) can eventually become professional planners. The degree enables learners to be registered as candidates with SACPLAN, and to operate at the level of an assistant in planning practice. After two years of planning experience they can register as a professional planner. The programme therefore includes courses on professional practice and ethics, planning law, and development planning theory, which focuses on the critical reflection of the role of planners in society. It also includes a course on the important area of municipal planning.

The degree also enables those with professional planning qualiifcations through four year undergraduate or three years bachelor plus one year honours degrees in town/urban and regional planning to advance their skills through deepening their understanding of the field through additional courses, and through extending their competency in research. The degree enhances the learners ability to research problems as well as to synthesise practicable solutions to the problems, to a professionally determined standard.

Rationale:

Urban and regional planning is one of the scarce skills according to the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills (JIPSA), and thus is seen as a career in demand. The masters degree provides a set of professional courses and areas of specialization for learners who already have a strong background in planning. It also provides for further education through coursework and research for graduates who already have a professional degree in planning. Current graduates of the 2 year MSc (Development Planning) are able to find work in planning and urban development more generally, and it is anticipated that graduates of the two degrees (Honours and Masters) will similarly find employment. The combined Bachelor of Urban Development Studies with Honours and Master of Development Planning has been restructured to reflect the demand for planners with a stronger spatial planning component (as reflected in the 2002 legal definition of planning in the Planning Professions Act, and in the work of the SGB for planning), so it is anticipated that take up of graduates should be good.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

English at NQF Level 6 is a requirement.

Recognition of Prior Learning:

Applicants who fall outside of the normal admissions process who can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the University that they have a Qualification or experiential-or work based learning which has taken the learner to an equivalent level of a Qualification specified above (under Formally Accredited Learning), may be considered for admission and/or for the recognition of prior accredited and/or prior experiential learning. Applicants who, after such assessment, are deemed to have sufficient potential but are in need of further academic development, may be required to broaden their curriculum to include preliminary programmes prior to admission or parallel programmes after admission.

Access to the Qualification:

Four year degree or three year bachelor's degree plus honours in planning, or BUDSHons or equivalent. To be considered for admission into the MDP, students must have successfully completed a four year planning degree or a three year bachelors degree plus honours in planning, or a BUDSHons or equivalent, normally with an aggregate of at least 65%. The 65% requirement may be lifted in exceptional circumstances in cases of good performance on other aspects of the entry requirement, work experience or Recognition of Prior Learning. Applicants who do not come through the Wits School of Architecture and Planning, and are thus not known to the programme staff, will need to complete a short essay, which will be assessed by the programme coordinator. Applicants with the BUDS with Hons who have not achieved a 65% aggregate will be required to undertake a year's work experience and to submit a portfolio of their work for assessment. An interview could be called for when the programme coordinator so determines. Equity, equal opportunity and transformation goals of the University are typically strong factors in the selection criteria. Students need to comply with University General Rules regarding admissions such as for English proficiency.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

QUALIFICATION RULES

Level, total redits required credits and learning components assigned to the Qualifications:

Module name; NQF Level; Compulsory/optional; Credits:

Professional Practice and Ethics; NQF Level 9; Compulsory; 20 Credits.

Law for Development Planners; NQF Level 9; Compulsory; 20 Credits.

Philosophies, Theories and Methodologies of Development Planning; NQF Level 9; Compulsory; 20 Credits.

Research Project; NQF Level 9; Compulsory; 90 Credits.

Research Methods; NQF Level 9; Compulsory; 10 Credits.

Municipal Planning; NQF Level 9; Compulsory; 20 Credits.

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

1. Analyse and evaluate the major themes in planning theory.

2. Understand the legal framework of urban planning in South Africa.

3. Apply Analytical Methods for Urban Planning.

4. Research, analyse and interpret information in different ways and can effectively communicate its significance to different types of audience.

Critical Cross-Field Outcomes:

The programme aims to develop the SAQA Critical Cross-Field Outcomes listed below:

Identify and solve problems in which responses display that responsible decisions using critical and creative thinking have been made.

Work effectively with others as a member of a team, group, organisation, community.

Organise and manage oneself and one's activities responsibly and effectively.

Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information.

Communicate effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills in the modes of oral and/or written presentation.

Use science and technology effectively and critically, showing responsibility towards the environment and health of others.

Demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognizing that problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:

Major themes in past and present urban planning, and major theories influencing urban planning internationally and in South Africa are evaluated and critiqued.

ideas about planning in the light of current practice are critically analysed.

Discuss, present and write coherently about the debates and themes of planning.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:

The main processes and actors in South African planning, with international comparisons are understood.

The primary legislative basis and related processes of South African planning and environmental systems are discussed.

South African legal and statutory planning and environment systems are applied.

The limitations of current approaches and of possible alternatives are discussed.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:

Knowledge of techniques and skills involved in the research process is demonstrated.

Urban planning problems are analysed and a research project planned to address the issues identified.

Write and make oral presentations on urban planning research.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:

Design an appropriate research program for their research Project.

Propose a research topic and survey the relevant literature.

Demonstrate an understanding of various research approaches and paradigms and methods of data collection and analysis.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY

The University of Melbourne offers a Master of Urban Planning's strength lies in its focus on sustainability, levels of equity and participatory democracy in the way the planning system shapes the evolution and growth of the built environment. It provides graduates with:

A critical understanding of how to manage the development of cities and regions across the globe with a focus on social, cultural, environmental, economic and historical concerns.

A grounding in the lessons of urban history and theory so that students can develop urban and regional management strategies with relevance to their time and place, their people and culture.

Enabling a greater focus on contemporary urban planning issues, specialisations are available in:

Social and community planning.

Economic planning.

Urban design.

Environmental planning.

Transport planning.

The University of Buffalo in the US also offers a similar programme which e requires 52 graduate credits, which are typically earned in four semesters over two full-time academic years. The curriculum features a core curriculum, foundational and general electives, a planning studio, a departmental colloquium, and a culminating professional thesis or project exam.

At the start of the third semester of study students must declare an option to pursue one of five "specialization options," or they must opt to pursue one of two "interdisciplinary approaches" in completing their second and final year of study. The interdisciplinary track options are to pursue the traditional "core" curriculum, or the same core, but with more emphasis on methods and techniques. Core (4 courses; 12 credits):

PD 501 Evolution of Urban Structure.

PD 510 Planning Concepts and Controversies.

PD 512 Research Methods for Planners.

PD 513 Quantitative Methods for Planners.

The McGill University in Canada also offers a Master of Urban Planning which takes place over two years (four semesters) and covers a total of 69 course credits. Students devote their first two semesters to fulfilling the basic requirements of the program, two studios and a set of core courses, and to exploring one or more areas of specialization through elective courses. Electives may be taken in the School of Urban Planning, in other academic units at McGill University, or at any of the three other major academic institutions in Montreal. In their third semester, students pursue their specific interests in a third studio and in additional elective courses. A Supervised Research Project rounds off the program. This final project may take the form of a piece of investigative research, an impact study, or a development project or a plan; it may be undertaken either individually or jointly with another student. Central to the educational experience is group work in a studio setting, in which students collaborate in multidisciplinary teams to solve "real life" problems in Montreal and the surrounding region. Equally important is the three-month professional internship, between the first and second year of study, in a planning field and geographic location of the students' own choosing. (Finding internship opportunities is the first part of the task).

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

Articulation possibilities of this programme:

Horizontal: Masters.

Vertical: PhD.

MODERATION OPTIONS

The Standing Orders and the Resource Guide for Lecturers list a number of assessment methods considered appropriate to Higher Education. Regular feedback is encouraged. The Wits HEQC Quality Audit Self-Evaluation Report June 2006 notes that section 1.3 of the Standing Orders suggest that
"Each course should include frequent and ongoing assessment systems, in order to provide continuous feedback to the students and thereby encourage continuous learning. Such feedback should be given to the students within a reasonable time after the assessment".
With regard to composition of marks, the Standing Orders on the Assessment of Student Learning (S2005/2388) note that:

"The course/year mark is made up of marks awarded for all forms of summative assessment offered throughout the course. This mark may comprise between 40% and 70% of the final mark (usually when combined with a final assessment mark), or may become the final mark, when this course/year mark is defined as such by being a pre-determined percentage, by a school and/or faculty".

"The final mark is the mark which is used to determine whether a student has met the requirements of a course or year of study. This mark may be made up of the course/year mark and the final assessment mark, or may be the course/year mark alone, or may be from one final assessment task provided it is part of a continuous assessment system whereby there is evidence of a substantive process of formative assessment and feedback".

External moderation is essential. The Wits HEQC Quality Audit SER of June 2006 notes that:

"The University has throughout its history subscribed to the notion of external moderation of its programmes and has embraced the strengthening of this system by the use of what used to be called 'internal examiners' (now internal moderators) as well as external examiners, and has tried to apply this at all levels from undergraduate to doctoral dissertations.

The University believes that, as a leading university, the validation of its qualifications by a system of external moderation is necessary, and that there should be a degree of external examination of all its courses. To this end, the extent of moderation that is considered to be the minimum required is as follows:

At least 50% of the assessments that contribute to the final marks of any course/year will be moderated, either internally or externally.

At least 30% of the assessments that contribute to the final marks of any course/year will be externally examined".

Following University Standing Orders, the Planning Programme has adopted the principle that 50% or more of an overall course mark achieved by a student must be reviewed by an external examiner. This mark may consist entirely of an exam mark, or may be an exam in combination with another assignment, or other assignments. In the case of examinations an arithmetical check is carried out by at least two people to ensure that all questions have been marked and that the entry of marks is correct.

In compliance with the University's Standing Orders (S2002/268), external examiners are appointed for all of our courses. Examiners are appointed from other universities, from appropriate professional institutions, from relevant built environment professions, or from other Schools within the University. If an oral exam is involved, examiners are generally sourced from the Gauteng region as the School does not have resources to pay for the travel costs of examiners from other areas. However for external moderation of written work, documents may be sent to examiners in other parts of the country.

The external examiner's role is to see that course assessments are fair, unbiased, accurate and consistent. In some instances external examiners are there to oversee and moderate written scripts, generally through sampling an anonymous selection of scripts spanning the marks range. In other instances external examiners review each and every student's project, and participate in oral exams. While these oral exams take different forms, they represent an opportunity for the examiner to interact with the entire class on an individual basis, and get a sense of overall performance in the course.

Please see the School of Architecture and Planning's self-evaluation report submitted to the South African Council for Planners, January 2008, Ch 6 on assessment for further detail.

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 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 Witwatersrand