Boland College
|
|
Quality is a key driver in all governance, management and operations of Boland College. After a lengthy process of audits and process development it became one of the first public FET Colleges in South Africa and first in the Western Cape to be accredited for its quality based on international standards. This happened with the cooperation and funding of various sources including the DANIDA Support to Education and Skills Development (SESD) Project (a Danish initiative).
The process started in 2002 when the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) realized the importance of a Quality Management System (QMS). In collaboration with TAFE Australia, the basis for developing a QMS for colleges was established and this process soon became a living one with new SETA (Sector Education and Training Authority) and SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) requirements.
Boland College was one of the first colleges to address the gap by appointing a full time Quality Manager with the purpose of developing a QMS for Boland College, based on ISO requirements.
Mr Werner Heitmann, Programme Director: Skills Development Strategy Initiative (SDSI) for German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) was approached who played a catalytic and supporting role with their international and local experience they gained from their instrumental involvement in policy setting and implementation of the new education and training dispensation since 1994. This support had lead to the appointment of Peter Kleinsorge who assisted with the development of the QMS.
The result: A fully functioning Quality Management System which is live and has since gained SABS ISO 9001:2008 recognition.
The quality department is still managed by a full time Quality Manager, Ms Johanna Coetzee and the College is operated based on the stringent South African Bureau of Standard's ISO 9001:2008 guidelines, processes and standards.
This gives all stakeholders the peace of mind that they are dealing with an organisation that is customer focused and that lives its ideals of being an organisation of world-class standards and quality.
 |
Approaches To QMS Implementation (Source: Connor PE & Lake, LK: 1988. Managing organisational change.)
The words of Philip Crosby: "Quality is the result of a carefully constructed cultural environment. It has to be the fabric of the organization, not part of the fabric," echoes the vision of Boland College's QMS.
"The development of a QMS for the skills development directorate afforded everyone in the directorate the opportunity to buy into the process by becoming a valuable contributor towards the development of the process. It also enabled the directorate to crystallise its thoughts with regard to the "what", the "how" and the "who". The QMS that was the outcome of these consultative discussions is of inestimable value to Boland College as it not only provides a clear link between directorates but it is also an excellent management tool".
Cathy Robertson and Rona van der Westhuizen
"The Quality Management System for Student Administration has allowed my colleagues and me the opportunity to dissect and analyse the entire administrative system of all the students at Boland College. This has resulted in a logical process by means of which each student can be managed according to his own personal needs. This ensures that the various steps taken result in an effective, smoothly running and sound administrative system.
It is vital that everyone involved with the day to day running of Boland College keeps us abreast of any changes that might occur or any information that is incorrect with regard to any student. It is our wish to have everyone working together and in this way we can maintain and sustain the "Quality Management" of Boland College".
Henry Geldenhuys
"To be part of the process was an experience which, when we started, found me rather sceptical but it began to make more and more sense as it evolved. I am now convinced that it will be an excellent tool to make Boland College an even better institution of quality education in action".
Elsa Venter
During my interview ± 5 years ago for the position of Manager for Fixed and Moveable assets, my answer to a question was 'yes - I am a person in favour of a set of rules'. After a whole lot of talk and discussions, and the 'completion' of the QMS for FMA, I want to say: We've stopped the talking and started the doing, now let's keep moving".
Jors Redelinghuys
"...The development of our QMS has helped us to define our HR processes and activities, which, in turn, gives all our STAFF and stakeholders the assurance of the SERVICE LEVELS they expect. It has been an exciting and thrilling journey and the quality of our organisation can never exceed the quality of the minds that created our QMS..."
Marius Hough and Jurie Saal
"I was appointed as Manager: Student Support Services after the process had been developed. The process was the tool I used to get a clear picture of what student support entailed. It stimulated my thoughts and provided guidance for my planning as it was designed in a logical and easily understandable way".
Amanda de Villiers
"In order to establish harmonious and balanced relationships with all Boland College's target publics, the marketing team is using an integrated approach in utilizing the different techniques of corporate communication and marketing. The QMS process enabled the marketing team to evaluate internal and external marketing and communication tools and techniques.
This process enabled the team to advise management regarding the possibilities of changing the key performance areas of the marketing actions, enabling them to be more supportive of the vision, mission and goals of the college. In short, from the QMS plan and subsequent marketing plan, the marketing team devised a "new" corporate communication and marketing plan for 2010.
Marketing and communication and public relations practice is the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counselling Boland College leadership and implementing planned programmes of action which serve both the College and the public interest. The QMS processes assisted in providing a logic planning framework to do this effectively and see how we fit into other processes of Boland College".
Jandré Bakker
"The banking environment from which my career originates is almost entirely driven by rigid systems and procedures. Whilst these banking systems are often criticised for their inflexibility, I believe that many of the successes which this industry has achieved, owes almost entirely to these management tools.
I have also previously assisted in the formulation of policies and procedures but found the process to be extremely exclusive. I say with a degree of pride, that the process here at Boland College was consultative and demanded the interaction and input of staff at various levels.
The result of this process, is that the policies which have been put in place are not "dead documents" and mere "lip service" to the concept of a "quality management system". I believe that if we all subscribe to a culture of "doing the right things, the first time right", Boland College will only reap the rewards in all spheres of our business".
Carl Williams
"For the amalgamation process and the centralisation of all functions, the development of a QMS for Boland College was indispensable. The value is actually in the fact that the QMS is not only a management system, but a Boland College QMS, as all the staff were given the opportunity to become part of the process".
Christiana Neal
"The development of a quality process for Education and Training has given guided the operationalisation of one of the strategic objectives of Boland College, i.e. to offer relevant, high quality programmes which are responsive to the social and economic needs of the community and industry and which are accessible to all learners.
The activities and sub-activities in the process are aimed at high-quality service delivery and continuous review and improvement of the services rendered. The Quality Management System of Boland College provides the infrastructure to achieve exactly that".
Brian Phike
A well-structured Quality Management system is without any doubt the foundation of all operational plans for Boland College. This system will lead us in the execution of our business and will ensure good management and operations on the different sites of service delivery within the boundaries of Boland College. Congratulations to all participants and may this milestone build on the other excellent strategies and policies of our institution.