For more information see PGDIP(HE) flyers for Rhodes staff (2017) or contact the Rhodes' PGDIP (HE) coordinator - Kelly Solomon (k.solomon@ru.ac.za). For ethical considerations see the Ethics protocol for all CHERTL assignments and portfolios

(Please note that if you require information on the course taught to those outside of the university click on , or for academic developers click on , to find specific information and the contact person).

Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education

For lecturers teaching nationally

CHERTL has been offering the PGDip (HE) to lecturers from a range of South African higher education insititutions for a number of years.

The purpose of the PGDip (HE) is to facilitate the professional development of lecturers as reflexive practitioners in higher education by developing their knowledge of Higher Education (HE) as a field of study. The programme is designed to assist lecturers to enhance their ability to facilitate, manage and assess students’ learning, and provide professional accreditation for HE practitioners.

Shifts in higher education around massification, globalisation and the discourse of ‘high skills’ have brought a changed workplace for academics in which they have to negotiate new expectations and identities. These international changes have particular nuances in the South African context where historical disadvantage, social justice and transformation need to be addressed. This course aims to contribute towards lecturers’ ability to respond to these challenges and to meet the real learning needs of their students.The Diploma is registered as a 120 credit honours level (level 8) course on the Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQSF).  Rhodes University is a registered provider for the course and the qualification is awarded by the Rhodes Education Faculty. Participants must complete normal registration procedures through the Faculty of Education at the beginning of each year.

The course is offered part-time over two years. Participants are required to attend all week-long block contact sessions. There will be three of these each year.  Between block sessions participants will be required to complete readings and tasks and to participate in discussion forums via an on-line Learning Management System (RUconnected). RUconnected is used to manage the resources, activities and tasks designed to help them to meet programme outcomes. 

Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education

 (For academic developers)

Call for new applications (PGDip HE) for Academic Developers  2025-2026.

The aim of this Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education for academic developers, registered on the higher education national qualifications sub-framework at honours level (HEQSF level 8), is to enhance the knowledge and competencies of staff in teaching and learning units/centres whose role it is to contribute to the transformation of higher education in a range of ways, including offering professional development for academic staff as educators in higher education institutions. Due to the current low pass rate of the increasingly diverse South African higher education student body it has become crucial to ensure greater success for more students. To achieve this, effective academic development initiatives, including professional development for academic staff, is a priority for the sector. The purpose of of the Diploma is thus to advance academic developers’ knowledge of higher education as a field of study and to enable them to conceptualise, design and implement formal and informal academic development initiatives appropriate to their specific contexts. 

The course was first introduced in 2011 and runs over two years with the participants attending week-long block contact sessions on Rhodes campus three times a year. Depending on available funding, participants may attend a writing retreat to conceptualise and design contextually appropriate academic development initiatives. You can click here to view a video on the most recent writing retreat, alternatively, please view the video provided below.

CHERTL staff members at Rhodes have developed considerable knowledge and expertise in the field of academic development and particularly academic staff development. The PGDip (HE) for academic developers is designed to share this experience and a range of institutional practices which will enable participants to offer appropriate academic development in their institutions.

Feedback from participants indicates that the course is meeting its objective of impacting on the work of academic developers through enhancing their theoretical knowledge of the field as well as their practical ability to transform teaching and learning at their respective institutions.

For more information, please contact the coordinator of the PGDip(HE) for academic developers, Anthea Adams (a.adams@ru.ac.za)or Office Administrator, Nomfundo Siqwede (n.siqwede@ru.ac.za)