An evaluative look at the model used in the assessment of teaching quality at the university of Natal, South Africa: Reflections, rewards and reconsiderations

The assessment of teaching quality has been high on the agenda of higher education institutions in South Africa since the beginning of the momentous transformation of that society and the attendant relatively sudden changes in the student constituencies served by those institutions. The University of Natal has accepted the need to recognise and reward quality in teaching, and since 1994 has implemented a new route to academic promotion through teaching, based on committee evaluation of a candidate's teaching portfolio. In this paper, the process of development and the actual model of the assessment of quality in teaching, including the evaluation criteria used in assessing teaching portfolios, is explored, described and evaluated. The successes and the problems inherent in the system are highlighted, and suggestions are made with respect to possible reconsiderations. Finally, the possibilities for generalising the model for use in other institutions are explored.