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 Urban Development Studies Honours

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
71754	Bachelor of Urban Development Studies Honours
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
Honours 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	150	Level 7	NQF Level 08	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 first year of the current two year MSc (Development Planning). The second year of the existing Qualification will be replaced by a one year Masters in Development Planning. The existing 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 proposed degree however is also somewhat different from the existing first year of the MSc (Development Planning): it has been altered to bring its content closer to current requirements for planning graduates, and also to provide an educational base for entrants into other degree offerings, namely, the proposed Masters in Housing, and research degrees in planning.

The degree provides an entry point for learners with an undergraduate degree in a cognate field to enter the field of urban development, and to move onto Qualifications with a particular focus on planning and housing. 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 Honours degree provides a wide set of skills and knowledge such as spatial planning, land, housing, urban economics, which are critical within the field of urban development. It thus provides a conceptual and skills base for practitioners who will later go on to gain professional Qualifications at a Masters level, or onto a research Masters. 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. However since the degree 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), it is anticipated that take up of graduates should be good.

Rationale:

Embedded within the mission and the institutional plan of Wits, the Wits School of Architecture and Planning promotes appropriate and innovative responses to urban development problems through relevant and excellent teaching, research and professional work, based on the principles of social equity and ethical professionalism.

Currently, Wits offers a two-year MSc (Development Planning). In accordance with the HEQF, the intention is to split this degree into a one year Bachelor of Development Studies with Honours (BUDS Hons) and a one year Masters in Development Planning (MDP). The BUDS Hons will however also provide an entry point to the proposed Masters in Housing and to research degrees in planning. This programme will further develop the research and academic focus of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits) in promoting postgraduate programmes in the enhancement of knowledge in the field of urban development.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

English on 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:

Undergraduate Bachelors in a cognate discipline, eg. Geography, Economics, Sociology, Anthropology, Architectural Studies, Civil Engineering. Students must have successfully completed the Bachelors Degree with an aggregate of at least 65%.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

QUALIFICATION RULES

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

Cities, Development and Planning; NQF Level 8; Compulsory; 20 Credits.

Land, Housing and the City; NQF Level 8; Compulsory; 20 Credits.

Urban Economics and Property Development; NQF Level 8; Compulsory; 20 Credits.

Research Project; NQF Level 8; Compulsory; 30 Credits.

Spatial Planning, Transport and Infrastructure; NQF Level 8; Optional, but will be compulsory for students intending to continue onto the Master of Development Planning; 40 Credits.

Planning, Environment and Sustainability; NQF Level 8; Optional, but will be compulsory for students intending to continue onto the Master of Development Planning; 20 Credits.

Urban politics and governance; NQF Level 8; Optional; 20 Credits.

Other options on urban development available within the university, and developed from time to time within the School of Architecture and Planning; NQF Level 8 or 9; Optional; 20-40 Credits.

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

1. Analyse and evaluate the complexity of "Cities, Development and Planning".

2. Apply the various forms of environmental management and planning.

3. Evaluate key concepts informing the processes which shape African cities.

4. Practice sustainable urban development.

5. 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 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:

A critical perspective on the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development is demonstrated.

The following environmental planning concepts are analysed in terms of the African city:
> Ecological fundamentals.
> Environmental ethics.
> The idea of environmental risk.
> The basics of environmental and resource economics.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is conducted.

Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) is practiced.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is conducted.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:

Several urban theories are applied to the African context.

The impact of globalisation on African cities is discussed.

Governance and urban violence as drivers of change in the African context are critically analysed discussed.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:

Emerging approaches to urban development are discussed.

Advanced understanding of planning as part of wider social, political, cultural, administrative, economic and natural systems, and their operating and financial characteristics are demonstrated.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5:

Epistemological issues and research methods in the urban development discipline is applied.

A research paper is produced that reflects in-depth knowledge of the literature, and use of recognised referencing methods.

Proposals for the improvement/elimination of the problem that was identified and researched are introduced.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY

Most of the Post Graduate Degrees at other international universities are on a Masters Level, which progresses directly from the Bachelors Level to the Masters Level. However, the University of Western Ontario offers a similar programme as a fourth year Honours. Modules for this course include: Geography, Business, Economy, Political Science and Sociology.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

Horizontal: Honours

Vertical: Proposed Masters in Development Planning, proposed Masters in Housing (both coursework and research report) and MTRP (by dissertation), and then PhD.

MODERATION OPTIONS

Integrated Assessment: and Moderation:

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