Flexible+learning+and+teaching+uwc+short+report+may+2015

Flexible learning and teaching at UWC:
understandings, practices and implications
Abbreviated Research Report
By: Division for Lifelong Learning (DLL)
This research is part of a broader action research project
supported by the South African Qualifications Authority
(SAQA) into “Professional learning and innovation and
its implications for higher education provision” under
the leadership of Professor Shirley Walters.
May 2015

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Contents
Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................................ii
Acronyms and abbreviations....................................................................................................................ii
Executive summary .................................................................................................................................iii
Background.............................................................................................................................................. 1
Literature review..................................................................................................................................... 2
Definitions and understandings of flexible learning and teaching...................................................... 2
The governance and policy environment........................................................................................ 2
Understandings in the local and international literature................................................................ 2
Technology enhanced learning ........................................................................................................... 3
Pedagogical implications for FLTP....................................................................................................... 3
FLTP implementation and organisational change............................................................................... 4
Research Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 4
Research methods............................................................................................................................... 5
Findings ................................................................................................................................................... 6
(i) Understandings of FLTP............................................................................................................... 6
(ii) FLTP practices.......................................................................................................................... 7
Flexible pedagogies ......................................................................................................................... 7
Student support services................................................................................................................. 9
(iii) Contextual factors impacting on FLTP................................................................................... 10
Drivers of FLTP............................................................................................................................... 10
Enablers of FLTP ................................................................................................................................ 10
Obstacles/Challenges to FLTP ........................................................................................................... 11
Promotion of FLTP at UWC................................................................................................................ 11
(iv) Towards ‘principles’ or guidelines for FLTP development .................................................... 11
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................. 12
Suggested next steps............................................................................................................................. 13
Bibliography........................................................................................................................................... 13
Appendix A: Drivers of FLTP at programme level................................................................................ 15
Appendix B: : Obstacles/challenges to FLTP.......................................................................................... 16

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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements and sincere thanks are given to all those who participated in this investigation, as
interviewees, as advisors or as critics, for your input and your feedback. In particular, we thank the
Senate Teaching and Learning Committee’s Advisory Group, chaired by Professor Vivienne Bozalek
and the DLL staff, particularly Barbara Jones who coordinated the study.
Acronyms and abbreviations
CHE Council for Higher Education
CHS Community Health Sciences
CIECT Centre for Innovative Educational and Communication Technologies
CSSS Centre for Student Support Services
DLL Division for Lifelong Learning
ECP Extended Curriculum Programme
EMS Economics and Management Sciences
FLTP Flexible learning and teaching provision
ICT Information Communication Technology
IOP Institutional Operating Plan
LMS Learning Management System
RPL Recognition of Prior Learning
SAQA South African Qualifications Authority
SOPH School of Public Health
UDL Universal Design for Learning
UWC University of the Western Cape

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Executive summary
This study set out to answer the question: How is flexible learning and teaching understood and
practised at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), in particular in relation to undergraduate
programmes and for ‘non-traditional 1
students? The criteria for flexibility guiding the study related
to admissions criteria, curriculum design, delivery (pace, place and mode of learning) and student
support services. This report reflects but one part of a four- year action research project conducted
in partnership with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).
Primary data in this qualitative, exploratory study were obtained from interviewing a sample of thirty
staff2
for their perspectives on the research question and on their own practices. Secondary data
were obtained from institutional policy documents, reports, faculty calendars and handbooks. Data
analysis was conducted thematically, following four broad themes, associated sub-themes and
categories related to the research questions, to the literature and to the framing criteria for flexible
learning and teaching provision (FLTP). Additional categories emerged from detailed analysis of the
data.
Key findings are presented in relation to the four overarching themes: understandings of FLTP; FLTP
practices; contextual factors impacting on FLTP; and FLTP principles/guidelines. The study found that
there are positive shifts towards FLTP at UWC, which are supported by teaching and learning policies,
structures and ‘champions’ of FLTP, but that the ‘full-time’/’part-time’ provision system limits
possibilities for flexibility. Consequently, FLTP practices tend to be responsive towards enhancing
learning and teaching within this binary system, but with relatively little attention given to creating
flexible alternatives to this system.
A proposed immediate next step is that a common inclusive understanding of FLTP, which arises
from this study, is discussed, amended if necessary, and adopted by UWC. This common
understanding could then mediate a coherent institutional response for expanding FLTP that better
accommodates ‘non-traditional’ students as the norm for UWC. The findings suggest that FLTP needs
to be promoted and driven persistently by the top institutional leadership in order to bring about the
required shifts and organisational change towards a more flexible model of learning and teaching
provision.
1
As opposed to the ‘traditional’ conception of students as being young, financially supported by their families
and having no responsibilities other than to their studies, ‘non-traditional’ students can be older, engaged in
some form of paid or unpaid work, and have a multitude of responsibilities outside of their studies.
2
Deputy deans, teaching and learning specialists, other key academics, administrators and student support
services staff.

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Background
UWC has an historic and niche advantage of providing access to higher education for working people,
but greatly increased numbers of young ‘full-time’ students entering the system in the last few years
has put pressure on all levels of the institution, leading to a growing decline in after-hours
undergraduate degree provision in some faculties and departments.
This study forms part of a larger cross-faculty action research project undertaken by the Division for
Lifelong Learning (DLL) in partnership with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). The
project is exploring flexible alternatives for working people to continue to access professional
development and lifelong learning opportunities that take into account their working and personal
contexts and their learning needs. In support of this, the DLL has been leading discussions at UWC
over the years to interrogate descriptors of students as ‘full-time’/‘part-time’, ‘working’/’not working’,
‘distance’/‘residential’ and to try to find a new way of thinking about flexible provision. This is in line
with the goals of UWC’s Institutional Operating Plan (IOP) 2010-2014 and Strategic Plan for Teaching
and Learning3
to “develop a more responsive teaching and learning environment which promotes and
enhances flexible learning”.
The action research project was conceived of as part of an organisational change and development
strategy and to try out what ‘flexible provision’ can or should mean in particular sites of practice. A
key question for the overall project has been ‘what conditions need to change in order to give working
people access to achieve success through higher education?’
This report focuses on a smaller research study within the overall project that sought to explore some
staff understandings of flexible learning and teaching provision (FLTP) at UWC; their reported flexible
learning and teaching practices; their perspectives on how to promote and grow successful FLTP at
UWC; and the possible implications for organisational change of expanding FLTP. In particular, the
study sought to identify practices that are more inclusionary of today’s diverse undergraduate student
population, with their varied learning needs and multiple responsibilities outside of the academy, and
based on the premise that most students are working, whether paid or unpaid. This premise is
supported by Schreiber & Moja (2014), whose research shows that the majority of all students at UWC
are ‘non-traditional’ in that they work either in the formal or informal sector; care for the old or the
young; are parents and/or surrogate parents to siblings; live and learn with disability or chronic illness;
and are returning or interrupting students.
Therefore the research question framing the study was: How is flexible learning and teaching
understood and practised at UWC, in particular in relation to undergraduate programmes and for
‘non-traditional’ students?
The study assumed that FLTP is conceptualised differently by different professional/disciplinary
groupings across the campus. It therefore aimed to continue the process of building common
understandings of FLTP, that respect the different purposes and traditions of disciplines, that
commenced in the larger action research project. This process occurred in the interviews and in
report-back discussions with research participants and the Senate Teaching and Learning (T&L)
Advisory Committee.
3
http://www.uwc.ac.za/TandL/Pages/Graduate-Attributes.aspx#.VBvhH5SSy1U

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Literature review4
Definitions and understandings of flexible learning and teaching
The governance and policy environment
UWC teaching and learning policy and strategies commit to supporting flexible learning and teaching
that is responsive to global challenges, to student needs and that promotes educational excellence.
These are consistent with commitments from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to
high quality education and training balanced with flexibility “to cater for the wide-ranging
circumstances that face learners and the wide-ranging options for delivering what constitutes relevant
credits and qualifications” (SAQA 2000: 3). The Council for Higher Education (CHE) has proposed a
flexible model for reforming the undergraduate curriculum that should enable a diverse body of
students to achieve their potential without compromising the quality of the qualification (CHE 2013).
At a national policy level, the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training emphasises the
principles of “learner centeredness, lifelong learning, flexibility of learning provision...” (RSA 2013:48).
It advocates higher education (HE) programmes and modes of provision that are more responsive to
learners’ needs and realities, including those of working adults, “which take into account their varying
life and work contexts, rather than requiring them to attend daily classes at fixed times and central
venues” (RSA 2013: 48). It recognises the important role of educational technologies and encourages
the expansion of quality ‘online’ and ‘blended’ learning, including of open and distance learning
programmes.
It is these principles and parameters that framed the investigation into FLTP at UWC, within a higher
education discourse of lifelong learning.
Understandings in the local and international literature
Most educationists would agree that flexible learning is about offering choices for when, where, how
and at what pace learning occurs.
These concepts relate to the delivery of learning and can be unpacked as follows:
● Pace - including accelerated and decelerated programmes and degrees, learning part time,
arrangements that allow learners to ‘roll on/roll off’ (‘stop in/stop out’), and systems for
recognition of prior learning and for credit accumulation and transfer;
● Place – work-based learning with employer engagement, learning at home, on campus, while
travelling or in any other place, often aided by technology which can enable the flexibility of
learning across geographical boundaries and at convenient times;
● Mode – especially the use of learning technologies to enhance flexibility and enrich the quality
of learning experience, in blended or distance learning and in synchronous and asynchronous
modes of learning (Tallantyre 2012: 4; Gordon 2014).
This study adopts the broad parameters of flexibility in learning and teaching practice suggested by
the University of Southern Queensland, Australia (2011), as follows:
4
This is an abbreviation of the fuller literature review to be found in the comprehensive research report.

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● flexible curriculum design, including flexible forms of assessment which take into account
different learning styles of students;
● flexible admissions criteria, including mechanisms such as the recognition of prior learning
(RPL);
● flexible delivery, including distance, online, on campus a mix of these modes as well as
accelerated or decelerated options; but has added
● flexible support systems and services that cater for all students, including those with
disabilities.
This signals a coherent higher education responsibility for FLTP that can sustain the educational
changes needed to support the lived realities of all students, especially ‘non-traditional’ students, for
learning success. FLTP, then, is more than simply re-packaging existing materials: “we are not just
selling a new course but a new concept in education” (Outram 2009:9). FLTP requires the
development of distinctive, more holistic forms of provision, as well as institutional change.
Principles of FLTP commonly expressed in the literature are: that it is responsive to a diversity of
learners - both working and not working - and learning styles; that it is about access and success in HE;
that it is founded on good pedagogy that puts the learner at the centre of learning (Alexander 2010,
Edwards 2014); that it develops self-regulated learners and well-rounded, knowledgeable and capable
graduates who can make a positive difference in the world (Edwards 2014); and that it requires a
coordinated, enabling response.
Finally, although flexibility is regarded as good for students as well as for the university (Alexander
2010), Barnett cautions that it is “not an absolute good” (2014:7) as there may be unintended
consequences. FLTP, therefore, needs to be monitored and limits to flexibility need to be recognised.
Technology enhanced learning
Technology plays an essential role in education today, not only for graduates to succeed in the local
and global economy, but also in providing flexible learning and teaching opportunities. But this must
not lead to digital exclusion, especially of those already marginalised (Barnett 2014: 7).
Technology enhanced learning (TEL) can mitigate the attendance requirements of full-time study,
enabling students to learn in their own time and place and at their own pace; it enables easy delivery
of materials from lecturers to students and vice versa; and it connects learners to people and
resources that can support their educational needs online (Lai and Chong 2007). Technology allows
universities to extend their traditional campus-based services to distant (off-campus) and online
modes, and has formed the basis of distance education for many years. Massive Open Online Courses
(MOOCS) have been touted as the answer to flexibility in education, enabling thousands of learners
access to learning in new ways, but there are pedagogical concerns with some of these approaches
and course completion rates tend to be low (Gordon 2014).
Pedagogical implications for FLTP
Pedagogy is key to TEL. McLoughlin and Lee (2010; 28) argue that today’s students “want an active
learning experience that is social, participatory and supported by rich media”, through the use of
information communication technology (ICT) tools and emerging technologies such as Web2.0 social
networking tools. But the interactive aspects of social media enabled learning increasingly shift the

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position of the learner, rather than the content or the institution, to the centre of learning, demanding
a curriculum design process that is learner centred and collaborative (Green, Woldoko, Foskey &
Brooks 2013).
The agency of the learner, or ‘learner centredness’, is a significant aspect not only of effective TEL, but
also of any quality education that engages the learner in the learning process. Zimmerman (2008)
argues that central to such engagement is developing ‘self-regulating learners’: “the degree to which
students are metacognitively, motivationally and behaviourally active participants in their own
learning processes”, and without which little learning can occur.
The pedagogic challenges of introducing quality FLTP and TEL are therefore considerable (Salmon
2005) and academics cannot do this in isolation. The present study offers examples of where such
challenges have been met without neglecting the knowledge that students need to succeed.
FLTP implementation and organisational change
Green et al (2013:26) claim that, because higher education is a complex system consisting of
“four inter-dependent sub-systems” - teacher, learner, delivery and administrative sub-systems -
flexible approaches to learning and teaching require profound shifts in the way that the entire
university views, engages with and develops knowledge.
Johnston (1997) suggests that (i) higher education change strategies need to be both top down and
bottom up; (ii) every person is a change agent and the best organisations learn from the external
environment as well as internally, from their own staff. Overall, Johnston advocates for a change
process that can shift pockets of enthusiasm for flexible learning towards a coherent, institutionalised
outcome.
Research Methodology
To reiterate, the key research question framing the study was:
How is flexible learning and teaching understood and practised at UWC, in particular in relation to
undergraduate programmes and for ‘non-traditional’ students?
Sub-questions arising from this were:
● How is FLTP understood at UWC and what might be a commonly acceptable understanding?
● How is it implemented, for whom and what are the benefits and constraints (for staff and
students)?
● What are the drivers/purposes of and obstacles to FLTP at UWC?
● What are the ways in which existing, pedagogically sound flexible learning and teaching practices
can gain traction and greater impetus across faculties?
● What principles of flexible learning and teaching can be derived to strengthen this provision at
UWC?
The following criteria were used as indicators of FLTP, drawn largely from the literature, to inform the
data collection:
• Flexible admissions criteria, including the recognition of prior learning;

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• Flexible curriculum design, including assessment, to take into account different learning styles,
different abilities and different knowledge backgrounds of students;
• Flexible delivery relating to the pace, place and mode of teaching and learning;
• Flexible support systems and services that cater for working and non-working students and
those with disabilities.
This was an exploratory, qualitative study. FLTP understandings and reported practices at UWC were
sampled to identify a set of principles for expanding quality learning and teaching provision. This
makes the study both descriptive and interpretive in nature, seeking to develop both a picture of what
was found and the underlying meaning (Henning, van Rensburg and Smit 2004).
Research methods
Primary data were obtained from 30 interviewees, from all seven faculties, in 28 semi-structured
interviews, as follows5
:
People
interviewed
Deans Deputy
Deans
T&L
Specialists
Academics Student Support
Services staff
Admin staff
Number 1 6 3 12 6 2
Table 1: Interview sample
‘Champions’ or ‘pioneers’ of FLTP initiatives were identified for interviewing through purposive and
snowball sampling and included three academics from extended curriculum development
programmes (ECPs). The student support services interviewees included the Directors of the Centre
for Student Support Services (CSSS), the Centre for Innovative Educational Communications
Technology (CIECT), the central library and the Writing Centre. Although the total sample was small,
care was taken to ensure it comprised people in key leadership and management positions as well as
practitioners and implementers of FLTP.
Discussions at a research report back meeting on 20 November 2013 and at a FLTP seminar
(‘Thinkwell’) on 19 June 2014 also provided data for the study.
Secondary data were obtained from the student handbook Part-time Studies in 2014, from faculty
calendars and from recent faculty teaching and learning reports to the Senate T&L Committee. The
faculty reports provided valuable background information for framing the interviews.
Discussions with the Senate T&L Advisory Committee to the study informed the design of the project
and the analysis and interpretation of the data. The analysis of the data followed four broad themes
related to the research questions, to the literature and to the framing criteria for FLTP, namely:
(i) understandings of FLTP (ii) FLTP practices
(iii) contextual factors impacting on FLTP (iv) FLTP principles / guidelines
Table 2: The four major analytical themes
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Deputy Deans were interviewed together with their faculty T&L specialists where possible. Guiding questions
which formed the basis for the interview schedules were adapted according to the positions and contexts of the
staff interviewed and are attached as Appendix A.

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Findings
(i) Understandings of FLTP
A range of understandings and positions regarding FLTP were encountered across faculties and
support services. These are summarised in Table 3 following:
Understandings
of FLTP
No. of
responses
Illustrative quote
1. Part-time /after-
hours provision
19 “it means evening classes”
2. TE learning and
teaching
26 “it was more than ten years ago that we already embraced some of these
flexible learning modes” (CIECT)
3. Flexible delivery 17 “(We) make the prac. sessions entirely flexible. They can do these when
they want and don’t even have to be on campus” (Science); and “flexible
learning …doesn’t necessarily have to be in the university because it is – I
see it as a mix between formal and informal.” (T&L specialist)
4. Student support 17 “What is important is how much you require of your student and what you
give them in terms of support and enable them. I don’t think that you can
require a lot and then not enable a lot.” (Writing Centre)
5. Learner-centred
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Pedagogy:
Active, reflective
learning;
knowledge
integration
16 …” it’s not content-based... they also have to connect things to the other
subjects they’re doing; where would this be useful, why would this be
useful?... we give reflective creative questions in the exams …what is the
point of a flexible programme if you aren’t making people’s minds more
flexible?” (ECP, Science)
Developing self-
regulated learners
7 “It’s about shifting the ownership of the process from me to students
....they take ownership of when they’re going to learn, what they’re going
to learn, how. So I provide a set of materials and my task is to make them
think about it. Where they do that and how they do that – there’s a whole
range of possibilities around that. … They’re in charge of their own
learning... the technology is available, it’s amazing for allowing that to
happen” (Arts)
Table 3: Interviewees’ understandings of and approaches to FLTP
More than half the interviewees conceptualised FLTP for working students as being after-hours classes
in one form or another, which could include blended learning. TEL was commonly associated with
FLTP, although interviewees reported that technology tended to be used by lecturers more as an
additional educational resource than as an alternative to contact teaching: “It is not totally catering for
a part-time student and the students still have to be in class to get the full benefit”.
A large number of interviewees associated FLTP with flexible forms of delivery, including assessment,
block teaching and open/distance learning. For example: “(the Masters in Public Health) shifted
significantly in 2001 from the block release model to more distance learning because…they needed to
make it more flexible... we need to keep people in posts… provide learning while they work” (School of
Public Health [SOPH]).
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This is taken to mean the induction of students into formal, disciplinary knowledge in the context of their own
knowledge backgrounds, while preparing them to be professionals and to become self-regulated, adaptive
learners. It includes being sensitive to students’ needs but within realistic limits.

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The majority of interviewees saw a strong relationship between FLTP and ‘learner-centred’ pedagogies
which engage learners, provide for interactive learning, promote the integration of knowledge and
develop independent, self-regulated learners. Formalised support for students was seen as essential
to all aspects of FLTP, including in ICT use. A comment was that many people do not consider what
they do as FLTP. This underscores the importance of raising awareness of FLTP and its potential at
UWC for accommodating ‘non-traditional’ students.
None of the interviewees disagreed in principle with the criteria for flexible provision framing this
study. However, it was suggested at the FLTP ‘Thinkwell’ seminar that a common understanding of
FLTP for UWC should imply a dynamic, rather than a static approach, and that it should be linked to
the broader mission of lifelong learning. The following statement was proposed:
The current, common understanding of FLTP at UWC, in furtherance of UWC’s mission to make lifelong
“learning opportunities available” is: Flexible learning and teaching provision is an inclusive, learner-
centred approach that promotes flexibility in admissions criteria, curriculum design, learning and
teaching modes and assessment, with appropriate support systems and services, for the purpose of
developing graduate attributes throughout the learning process so that all students can make a
positive difference in the world. This is a dynamic understanding which we anticipate will change over
time.
This initial common understanding will need to be tested further with staff across UWC.
(ii) FLTP practices
This analytical category includes pedagogical practices and services that do and could support the
academic and personal development of ‘non-traditional’ students. UWC follows a ‘full-time’/‘part-
time’ provision model so that there is no alternative system for working undergraduate degree
students. A feasibility study for running a whole degree, the B Admin, using a FLTP framework to
accommodate all students, both ‘traditional’ and ‘non-traditional’ has recently been undertaken.
Some of the examples of flexible provision described below can and do accommodate all students, but
within the parameters of ‘full-time’/‘part-time’ provision at UWC.
Flexible pedagogies
The broad theme of flexible pedagogies includes the sub-themes of curriculum flexibility and flexible
delivery. Examples of practices that are specifically aimed at ‘non-traditional’ students, or could be,
are noted.
Curriculum flexibility
Curriculum flexibility includes the structure of the degree programme, alternative forms of
assessment, design that takes into account different learning styles and abilities, and the recognition
and incorporation of different forms of knowledge.
 Mainstream undergraduate degree programmes follow a modular design with flexibility of module
choice in most generic degrees, such as the BCom, the BA, the BEd, the BSc and the LLB. However,
the undergraduate professional degree programmes in Dentistry and Community Health were said
to have less opportunity for curriculum flexibility because of restrictions imposed by the
professional boards and the considerable clinical practice requirements.

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 There may be less flexibility in more specialised programmes: the BTh (Arts) allows some module
choice on the ‘full-time’ programme but follows a set curriculum with no flexibility in module
choice on the ‘part-time’, after hours programme.
 The first year curricula of the extended curriculum programmes (ECPs) in the Natural Sciences, in
the Community Health Sciences (CHS) and in Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) were
described by interviewees as having an integrated logic across the different compulsory modules,
to maximise chances of student success. Although there is no flexibility of subject choice, these
curricula were reportedly designed to be learner-centred and to encourage interactive learning.
For example, the ECP Introduction to Science course has no traditional lectures but resembles a
tutorial design; students work through worksheets in groups with tutors acting as facilitators.
Team work, collaborative learning and the development of graduate attributes are emphasised
and self-reflection is an essential aspect of the course. Individual learning portfolios form a major
part of the final assessment. This pedagogical approach could be adapted for ‘non-traditional’
students.
 Voluntary and/or transdisciplinary courses that are outside of the mainstream, such as HIV and
Aids for Educators, and Environmental Sustainability Studies (ESS) are able to have a more flexible
curriculum and delivery approach which could suit ‘non-traditional’ students. The HIV and Aids for
Educators course was said to be designed around the specific needs of the participants; it is a
voluntary module for B.Ed students, and is taken to local communities on request. The curriculum
incorporates interactive and authentic learning activities and assessments. The ESS programme
consists of a series of transdisciplinary modules with students participating from the CHS,
Education, Arts, EMS and Science faculties. It incorporates activities such as role play; Second Life
where students develop avataars for engaging with different concepts; and learning portfolios.
Flexible delivery
Flexible delivery refers to flexibility in pace, place and mode of provision, including open and distance
learning and TEL, some examples of which are presented here.
Pace
 No examples of accelerated learning provision were encountered in faculty teaching and learning
reports or reported in interviews; the only option for variance in pace of learning on
undergraduate degree programmes is through part-time provision. This occurs predominantly in
the EMS Faculty, in the form of the BCom and the BAdmin, but other access programmes,
advanced diplomas, postgraduate diplomas and certificates are also offered after hours for
working people in EMS. The Law Faculty no longer offers an LLB part-time and the Arts Faculty has
a limited number of after-hours options that are still available for working students, such as the
BTh, the BLIS7
(only first-year courses are offered after hours) and Psychology (Psych. 11 and 111
are offered after hours every alternate year).
 Because regular attendance at evening classes is difficult for working students, some academics
make an extra effort to accommodate them by holding classes or tutorials on Saturdays (reported
in Political Studies, Library and Information Science (LIS) and Accounting).
7
Bachelor of Library and Information Sciences

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 Recognition of prior learning (RPL) is conducted through the Division for Lifelong Learning and
enables flexible access to undergraduate study at UWC for 40-50 adult learners each year.
Place and mode
These dimensions of FLTP are strongly interlinked, as some of the following examples show.
 Off-campus fieldwork, which may take the form of work-integrated learning as in LIS, or of
community-related project work, occurs in some courses.
 The computer labs in the EMS Faculty are being kept open until 9pm during the week and until
5pm on Saturdays to accommodate working students who need access to computers after hours.
 The B.LIS (Arts) and Political Studies (EMS) are pilot sites for the FLTP Action Research project,
experimenting with FLTP for working students and assisted by the CIECT instructional design team.
 Emerging technologies are the most commonly used tools in flexible delivery. Simulations are used
in the Natural Sciences, in CHS programmes and in Dentistry to orientate students to laboratory
work or clinical work. YouTube is used as a learning resource across most of the faculties. Vodcasts
are used for assessment, such as in the Department of Social Work. Third Life and digital
storytelling (for assessment) are used in the Department of Environmental and Water Science.
 Discussion forums using mobile technologies are reportedly quite widely used to enhance learning
and for continuous assessment. When both ‘full-time’ and ‘part-time’ students participate in the
same discussion forum learning can be greatly enriched, as described by an accounting lecturer.
 Most students have access to mobile technologies, making them useful communication tools as
students may not have internet access at home. However, students need to be consulted as to
what works best for them: a class of evening accounting students preferred communicating by
email, which they could access at work.
 Replacing contact sessions with TEL is reportedly more common in post-graduate programmes,
with some modules available online only. The Masters in Public Health (MPH) is registered as a
blended learning programme; students are from Africa and beyond, printed and digital learning
material is provided, and SOPH staff provide academic support by email and telephonically.
Student support services
The different student support services all play a vital role in strengthening FLTP and are themselves
flexible, catering for working and non-working students.
 The Centre for Student Support Services (CSSS) provides diverse, responsive professional services
to support holistic student learning and personal development. They have offices for: students
with disabilities; student development; academic support; leadership and social development; and
therapeutic services. To cater for individual preferences, services can be accessed by ‘dropping-in’;
by appointment; off campus; online; telephonically; and some are available after hours. “So it is
packaged differently to enable people to hook into whatever works for them.”
 The central library has late weekday and weekend opening hours. A range of information literacy
training sessions are available, both walk-in and self-booked online. Self-help guides are available
at the point of need in the library.

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 The Writing Centre provides academic writing support to undergraduate students in one-on-one
sessions with peer writing tutors and through writing workshops on request. It provides
asynchronous feedback for students who are off campus during weekdays.
 The CIECT offers comprehensive training and support services in computer literacy and
educational and emerging technologies, from the basics to more complex operations, for all staff
(academic and administrative) and students, during the day and after hours for working students.
Individual training is offered to staff at their own workstations. CIECT staff advise academic staff
on the pedagogical use of different technologies and on how to infuse these in curriculum design.
(iii) Contextual factors impacting on FLTP
These are described below under the themes ‘drivers’ and ‘enablers’ of FLTP; ‘obstacles/challenges’ to
FLTP; and promotion of FLTP.
Drivers of FLTP
Institutional drivers
Institutional systems are in place to drive learning and teaching development through the Deputy
Vice-Chancellor Academic and associated structures. The T&L Directorate works in collaboration with
the Deputy Deans T&L and T&L Specialists in each faculty in order to meet the IOP 2010-2014 T&L
objectives , among them FLTP. FLTP is also driven and enabled by the CIECT services and ICT training.
Programme level drivers
The drivers of FLTP at individual programme level, mentioned by academics in interviews, were
overwhelmingly aimed at enhancing learning and teaching through engaging students more deeply in
the learning process. This suggests that these academics are reflecting seriously on their pedagogy.
The other main drivers mentioned were pioneers and champions of FLTP who expose staff to FLTP
practices and their educational potential. See Appendix A for more detail of these drivers with
examples.
Enablers of FLTP
Institutional enablers
Some of the most important institutional enablers of FLTP, which can be viewed as ‘top-down’, are
listed below.
 UWC’s IOP 2010-2014 and its associated strategic and implementation plans for T&L;
 Having a T&L Specialist and a Deputy Dean T&L in every faculty;
 The collaboration of staff from the library, the CIECT, the Writing Centre, DLL and the T&L
Directorate in learning and teaching support and development;
 Institutional support for the professional development of academic staff, e.g. for staff to attend
Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) short courses, and especially on TEL; T&L induction
programmes for new academics; and the development of a postgraduate diploma for T&L in HE;
 The encouragement of T&L scholarship, especially around educational and emerging technologies;
 Regular T&L seminars, colloquia and events which showcase FLTP practices and research;
 Teaching awards and grants which incentivise FLTP.

11
 As a signatory to the Berlin Declaration for Open Access, UWC research is now in the public
domain. This is an important commitment to making learning more flexible and open to all.
Individuals as enablers of FLTP
Individual dispositions and agency are important enablers of FLTP from the ‘bottom up’, especially
champions of FLTP who influence the discourses and practices in their faculties and more broadly
across UWC.
Obstacles/Challenges to FLTP
The key obstacles and challenges to FLTP, perceived by interviewees, can be categorised as follows:
challenges associated with resistance to change at organisational and individual levels; administrative
and bureaucratic obstacles; resource challenges; and limitations to FLTP because of professional body
requirements. A detailed table of responses is attached as Appendix B. In brief, formal and informal
systems and/or practices at departmental, faculty and institutional level can frustrate individual
efforts to create more flexible learning opportunities for both working and non-working students. This
is compounded by people’s resistance to change.
The health-related undergraduate degrees are quite tightly controlled by the Health Professionals
Council (HPC) in order to assure consistent standards and quality, and the reality is that the majority of
these can be offered only as ‘full-time’ programmes. However, many examples of creative, flexible
approaches to teaching, learning and assessment were reported in these programmes.
The perception that many academics are not exploring the potential of the learning management
system, Ikamva, for FLTP could be partly explained by tensions between the time it takes to become
familiar with different educational technologies and to rethink and redesign a course, and the
immediate and often overwhelming priorities of teaching and research. A related concern was that,
although mobile technologies and email are easy, convenient tools for students and staff to
communicate with each other, especially for working students, these can be intrusive and demanding
of lecturers’ time unless firmly managed. Counter arguments were that it was worth the initial
investment in time and effort, as not only do these pedagogies make for more rewarding teaching and
learning, but also can save time and work in the long term.
Promotion of FLTP at UWC
Interviewees were asked what could be done to increase the uptake of FLTP at UWC. Key responses
were:
 Promote FLTP more (from the bottom up) by showcasing successful examples within faculties.
 More grants for T&L innovation can incentivise experimenting with FLTP and should be actively
promoted.
 FLTP needs to be embraced and championed by UWC leadership in all spheres of its operations
(from the top down), at departmental, faculty and executive levels, to bring about a change in
institutional culture from ‘full-time’/’part-time’ provision to more flexible, inclusive learning and
teaching approaches for a diversity of students.
(iv) Towards ‘principles’ or guidelines for FLTP development
The following principles/guidelines that would need to inform institutional policy on FLTP were
distilled from the interview data, from a report-back meeting, a ‘Thinkwell’ seminar and from the

12
literature. Although there is some overlap with UWC’s present T&L policies, the challenge is to embed
these policies more widely and deeply within the institution. The findings suggest that the following
actions are necessary:
 Agreement on a broad and inclusive university-wide understanding of quality FLTP;
 The promotion of FLTP across all faculties, for the entire student body, driven by the institutional
leadership;
 Putting the learners at the centre of provision, and within a framework of ‘ethics of care’, starting
with knowing who one’s learners are;
 Ensuring pedagogically oriented, quality FLTP which respects the knowledge demands of different
disciplines and domains;
 Ensuring a responsive pedagogy that respects and builds on alternative forms of knowledge,
including the knowledge embedded in learners’ life experiences;
 The nurturing of a desire, and the development of attributes for lifelong learning through FLTP;
 Ensuring an inclusive FLTP, providing a range of opportunities and choices for learning for diverse
learning needs, and of the pace, place and mode of delivery, both on and off campus (possibly
guided by universal design for learning principles);
 Promoting greater use of alternative, flexible approaches to assessment within FLTP;
 Guaranteeing adequate resources underpinned by reliable ICT;
 A coherent and enabling institutional system where the administrative, teaching, learning and
delivery sub-systems are aligned and support each other.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it seems that there are positive moves towards more flexible learning and teaching
provision at UWC. The Directorate for T&L is playing a vital role in driving, encouraging and monitoring
these changes and in developing the scholarship of FLTP, towards fulfilling the objectives of the IOP
2010-2014. However, the duality of the ‘full-time’/’part-time’ provision system restricts rather than
facilitates these shifts. In addition, the findings indicate8
that FLTP efforts come largely from self-
motivated individuals, rather than from a coherent, centrally-led vision by top institutional leadership.
One of the biggest challenges seems to be to change the dominant conception of teaching/learning as
largely face-to-face and lecture based and for university staff to accept that the ‘non-traditional’
student is the norm, not the exception. It is vital that undergraduate provision affords appropriate
flexible learning opportunities that cater for this norm.
That challenge connects with another; the reportedly high workload of academic and administrative
staff, which leaves them little time or energy to explore more flexible ways of responding to a diverse
student body. Yet another is perceptions that research outputs are valued above teaching, and this
8
Despite the relatively small sample from which the primary data were drawn, it was purposively selected to
comprise those in key positions and academics engaged in and pioneering FLTP. Therefore, although the data
may be representative of the views of these key people, the findings should be said to be indicative only.

13
constrains innovation and experimentation in teaching . Any drive to assert the relevance of FLTP to
student participation and engagement would need to take all these issues into account.
FLTP strategies appear to be pedagogically informed and academics are trying to explore more flexible
learning and teaching modes through TEL. Some FLTP activities are directed at working students in
particular, reflecting an awareness of their learning needs, but most are aimed at enhancing and
facilitating learning and teaching in general and these could be implemented more widely. There are
several forums for showcasing innovation in T&L, to encourage, support and raise awareness of
quality FLTP initiatives.
The work of the CIECT team ensures that the ICT capacity of all students and of UWC staff at all levels
is continuing to grow and be supported and, most importantly, that TEL is pedagogically informed. The
student support services are working hard to respond to the needs of all students, providing a range of
different, flexible services.
Finally, there are challenges for the administrative system that will need to be addressed if FLTP is to
thrive. Not only do all four sub-systems that make up the complex HE system need to be aligned and
support each other, but also, for FLTP to grow and to be sustainable, the entire university needs to
shift in the way it views, engages with and develops a common understanding of and commitment to
a provision which offers a wider range of opportunities for student participation in its programmes.
What follows are possible next steps to ensure flexible approaches to learning and teaching become
the norm at UWC, rather than the exception, to meet the needs of its diverse student body.
Suggested next steps
 Set up a central steering committee for implementing FLTP comprising senior leadership and
management and that has university-wide representation.
 Ensure university policies and systems align with the FLTP vision.
 Embark on financial modelling that can sustain the envisioned FLTP goals, looking at the costs
of resources needed compared to the long-term success benefits.
 Develop a project plan for staged FLTP implementation.
Bibliography
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Barnett R (2014) Conditions of flexibility: Securing a more responsive higher education system. The
Higher Education Academy, January Available at:
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/flexible-learning/flexiblepedagogies/conditions_of_
flexibility /main [Accessed 05.07.2014]
Council for Higher Education (CHE) (2013) A proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in South
Africa: The case for a flexible curriculum structure. Report of the Task Team on Undergradutate
Curriculum Structure. Pretoria: CHE

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Edwards A (2014) Designing tasks which engage learners with knowledge. Impending publication in I
Thompson (ed) Task design, subject pedagogy and student engagement London: Routledge
Gordon N (2014) Flexible pedagogies: Technology enhanced learning. The Higher Education Academy,
January. Available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/flexible-
learning/flexiblepedagogies/tech_enhanced_learning/main_report [Accessed 05.07.2014]
Green N, Woldoko B, Foskey R & Brooks M (2013) Social media-enabled learning and the curriculum in
Australian higher education: A literature review. DeHub Monograph Series, DEHub Innovation in
Distance Education, University of New England, NSW, Australia
Henning E, van Rensburg W & Smit B (2004) Finding your way in qualitative research. Pretoria: Van
Schaik.
Johnston S (1997) Introducing and supporting change towards more flexible teaching approaches.
Conference paper presented at the Cambridge International Conference on Open and Distance
Learning, ‘The Convergence of Distance and Conventional Education: Patterns of Flexibility for the
Individual Learner’, Open University, Cambridge. Contained in a Collection of Conference Papers ISBN
0 7492 8849 3
Lai ML and Chong MM (2007) Professional students’ technology readiness, prior computing
experience and acceptance of an e-learning system. Malaysian Accounting Review 6(1).
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Educational Technology 26(1) 28-43.
Outram S ( 2009) Flexible Learning Pathfinders: a review of the pilots’ final and interim reports
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[Accessed 03.09.2013]
Salmon, G (2005). Flying not flapping: A strategic framework for e-learning and pedagogical innovation
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Education and Training, Pretoria.
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Quality Assurance. Pretoria
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Available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/flexiblelearning/
FL_summit/FLsummit_report_final.pdf [Accessed 01.09.2013]
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methodological developments, and future prospects. American Educational Research Journal (45(1)
166-183

15
Appendix A: Drivers of FLTP at programme level
Drivers of FLTP practices No. of
responses
Examples of FLTP practices
To involve students more
actively in the learning
process
17 Discussion forums were used by 2 academics interviewed, and
reported to be quite widely used in 3 faculties
To address authentic learning
/integrated competencies/
graduate attributes
10 Science ECP students develop learning portfolios based on
UWC’s 6 graduate attributes, decide for themselves what to
include and justify how their evidence supports the course
outcomes
Champions/being exposed to
FLTP practices
10 “I like to try new things and maybe improve our department in
terms of technology, make it easier. And because of that a few
lecturers and one or two of the other technical officers…they’re
also trying to use Ikamva and e-teaching and stuff in their labs
and lectures” (Science)
TE T&L to
accommodate/assist working
students & PWDs
8 “…whatever you give has actually to exceed what you would give
face to face, also particularly because distance learning carries
that stigma of second best in many countries… ” (SOPH)
To address challenges of large
class sizes
4 “There are..up to 700 and even 1 000 to a class… their voices
were drowning in the crowd... how do you get the students’
voice out again? I think that is where I engaged with the
technology… to give me feedback, or ask questions or pose
questions.” (Accounting
Time pressures/ work volume
for lecturers
2 Using Mixit/mobile technologies to set up virtual consultations
with students at night as there is not enough time to consult
during the day
To remedy high failure rates
in specific courses
2 ‘Champions’ in the Law Faculty used portfolios, MCQs, podcasts
and online tutorials as additional T&L resources for these courses
and pass rates have increased significantly.

16
Appendix B: : Obstacles/challenges to FLTP
Obstacles/Challenges
to FLTP
No. of
responses
Illustrative quotes
Change related challenges
Resistance to change by
academics and/or
administrative staff
14 “...some of the teaching practices... are inscribed by the hierarchy in
that department. So you’ve got these poor, innovative people sitting at
the bottom who want to do this, that and the other, but they can’t;
there’s no institutional space for it.”; and “people don’t want to change
or do things differently.”
Change needs to be
driven continually
8 “In the absence of a T&L specialist to drive these initiatives, people tend
to slump back into old ways of doing things because it is easier“
Ikamva used more as a
repository for T&L
resources than for FLTP
8 “People use Ikamva to post lecture notes, readings etc. ...but unless
there is actual 2-way communication taking place, which is not the way
most people use it, then it is not a LMS and should really be called a
content management system”
Perception that research
is valued above T&L
4 “People feel that they put a lot of labour into teaching and it is not
acknowledged. So it is the general sort of teaching /research divide and
what you get kudos for”
Administrative challenges
Bureaucratic
requirements kill
creativity in T&L
4 “they come to you saying, ‘this is the policy, and this is what you must
do’... that it is when people get to tick box exercises rather than face
changing the way they think about who they are and how they teach
and who their students are.”
The academic timetable
and venue allocation
limits FLTP
5 “... the timetable does not fit (with what we are trying to do), the
examination does not fit, the mode of assessment does not fit, there
are never enough venues. It is the institution that creates inflexibility.”;
and “there are seemingly no venues but there are; they are just
inappropriate or empty.”; and “We’ve battled to get our classes in a
cluster of venues that are student friendly at night, to have facilities at
night”; and “The Dean even said at the beginning of this year that he is
prepared to hire a few marquees and fit everyone into a corner
somewhere because we had so many problems with the timetable.”
Admin. obstacles to
transdisciplinary T&L
4 “At an administrative level the institution does not work like that, it
works in departments.”
Admin. systems do not
cater for students at a
distance
3 “the university system was never geared for distance learning and there
was always that thing of: ‘don’t call it distance learning; call it mixed
mode’...”; and “there were years of fighting with a centralised
institution that has no time for distance education. ..It is difficult... if
you are a small operation in a predominantly face to face university”
Resource challenges
Limited resources:
tutors, ‘clickers’, laptops
for staff etc.
5 ...”because of the lack of resources. ... we didn’t have tutors this year.”;
and “this year the budget has just been quietly absorbed into the
different departments so there is no money for resources...”
Access for
undergraduate students
to computers/ internet
4 “There is this idea that we don’t have enough computers... . I think we
have to be creative in looking at what students have themselves and
trying to use that. … for me a basic would be to have wireless access
anywhere on this campus. There is not good wireless access.”
Professional body requirements
Health Professionals
Council (HPC)
requirements limit FLTP
3 “Undergraduate programmes are very traditional... very strait jacketed.
One cannot choose which modules to do and they are tightly
sequenced. This is due to a combination of professional board
restrictions and the practical requirements.”

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