Blog

History

Richfield Graduate Institute of Technology commenced operations in 1990 in Tongaat as a Computer Training Centre. It established branches in various provinces and today has a national footprint.

Registration

The Institution is accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), Umalusi, the Quality Council on Trades and Occupations (QCTO) and numerous SETAs.

Richfield Graduate Institute of Technology (Pty) Ltd is registered with the Department of Higher Education & Training as a Private Higher Education Institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997, Registration Certificate No. 2000/HE07/008 & as a Private Education College under the Continuing Education & Training Act, 2006 (Act No. 16 of 2006), Registration Certificate No. 2008/FE07/050.

Richfield operates Higher Education, Technical, Vocational & Further Education Training, Distance Learning and Short Learning Programmes with campuses located across major cities and rural sectors in South Africa. Higher Education Programmes are offered at Higher Certificate, Advanced Certificate, Diploma, Degree, Post Graduate Diploma and Honours levels in the Faculties of Information and Communications Technology; Business, Economics and Management Sciences and Public Administration. The institution has a proud track record of 30 years in operation with 33 accredited Higher Education sites and 22 accredited programmes.  Over 300 000 students have completed a range of programmes over this period.

Richfield is jointly owned by its founders and by Investec Africa Private Equity, a closed-end fund that is managed by Investec Asset Management (“IAM”). IAM acquired a majority controlling stake of Richfield Holdings (Pty) Ltd in 2018.

Capital Investment

With Capital Expenditure of over One Billion Rands invested in Campus Infrastructure, Richfield committed a further R100 million investment to improve the quality of teaching for learning by using technology in education. This learning initiative revolutionized and enhanced learning experiences in the education process in South Africa.

Since 2012, over 100 000 Tablet PCs were acquired amounting to R118 million, which were made available to students registering for Higher and Further Education qualifications, free of charge, when they enrol at the College. Students receive most of their learning material pre-loaded and readily available from their Tablet PC’s creating a culture of student-centeredness. The Tablet PC’s compact, convertible design allows students to comfortably make use of the device in small spaces. Tablet PCs also include wireless Wi-Fi, Tablet PC charging stations and internet support.

Moodle

Moodle is an online Learning Management System (LMS) enabling educators to create dynamic courses that extend learning, anytime, anywhere.

Lecturers use Moodle to provide course materials such as handouts, lecture notes and PowerPoint presentations and may use Moodle in more interactive ways, which will require more input. Activities such as discussion forums, chat rooms, quizzes and assignment drop-boxes are often used.

Library And E-Library

Higher Education students have the added advantage of accessing e-libraries irrespective of where they are, empowering them to draw from a wider range of research material from all over the world.  Products of digital resources have been purchased with the aim to create a modern, accomplished, user-friendly and simple to use the electronic library. The Institution has partnered with some of the world’s greatest academic digital publishers such as Elsevier ScienceDirect, Emerald Group Publishing, Springer Nature, PressReader and WARC Resources to provide free access to a range of e-newspapers, e-magazines, e-books, e-cases and e-journals to its students.

The campus library consists not only of prescribed textbooks but also books of many categories such as fiction, non-fiction, reference materials and training collections.

Richfield Graduate hosts its Annual Academic Library Conference. The conference is held to create an opportunity for academic book publishers, academics and librarians to engage on significant issues in support of the quality library, information services & librarianship nationally

Quality Management And Quality Assurance

As its own initiative since 2000, the Institution had committed to a formal, Total Quality Management System and was accredited with the SABS ISO 9001: 2000 Quality Standard for all its campuses. While the revised SABS ISO 9001: 2008 standard supports and supplements the requirements of regulatory agencies including the HEQC and other ETQA’s; it was deemed necessary to migrate to ISO 9001:2015 standards. Richfield successfully completed a rigorous ISO international audit and is proud to announce its ISO 9001:2015 status together with OSHAS 18001:2007 Certification.

The IQMF of the Institution is informed by the quality assurance requirements of, amongst others, the Council of Higher Education’s Higher Education Quality Committee, and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).

Academic & Corporate Governance

Academic, Corporate Governance and Leadership is provided through various structures at the Campus level, Regionally and Nationally. All Sub-Committees are delegated Board Committees.

The Curriculum, Innovation, Design and Development (CIDD) and Senate members pay particular attention to regulatory compliance, advisory and oversight of all academic activities. External academic and industry representation on the Board Committees ensure that the content of programmes are constantly evaluated against industry and employer requirements and benchmarked nationally and internationally.

Work Integrated Learning (WIL)

The quality promotion and capacity development activities of the Institution have been included in the conducting of workshops and training sessions, to align WIL to the CHE’s Good Practice Guide. Due consideration is given to the educational purpose and the role of work-integrated learning in teaching and learning ensuring that students graduating from their programmes are prepared for the world, in which they will live and work. Work-integrated learning is incorporated into all programme offerings and requires appropriate workplace assessment for all students before the awarding of qualifications.

Work-integrated learning is undertaken in the final year of study. The time allocated for WIL is in line with the notional hours for the module. Students are provided with logbooks that outline the purpose, rationale, roles and responsibility of the stakeholders involved. These log books are developed in line with the programme exit outcomes which are aligned to SAQA Level Descriptors.

Work Readiness Programme (WRP)

The Work Readiness Programme is not included in the curriculum of the qualification but is a pre-requisite to the Work Integrated Learning Programme. The WRP programme has the following components:

• Academic Literacy Skills
• Financial and Numeracy Skills
• Social and Emotional Skills
• Self-Management Skills
• Work Readiness Skills

The WRP Student Guide is intended to complement the group workshops that students attend and participate in. Students’ interactive participation on Moodle is digitally recorded and tracked. Students undertake online assessments prior to being placed into the industry for WIL.

Management Information Systems (MIS)

The implementation of the Integrated Campus Administration System (ICAS) has contributed to the development of the Institution’s MIS and facilitated integration into the HEQCIS, Umalusi and SETA MIS eventually working its way to the NLRD.

Research

Richfield’s in-house journal called the Journal of Technology and Business Management provides an opportunity for Richfield staff and students to publish their research. The papers are rigorously reviewed by a peer review committee, which is composed of experienced scholars and researchers. Every year, a number of papers are published. In 2018, Richfield held a research conference under the theme “Rising to the IT challenge; setting new norms for transformational change in Business, Education and Leadership”, which attracted national and international scholars of high standing and keynote speakers of significant renown in their fields.

Community Engagement (CE)

Community Engagement is one of three core responsibilities of Higher Education, alongside research and teaching and learning. As an Institution of Higher Learning Richfield is perfectly positioned to use its skill and knowledge base as well as facilities and infrastructure to empower and assist communities.

The Institution sees Community Engagement as a key priority and is responsive to the educational, cultural, economic, industrial, environmental and social needs of South Africa.

The focus is particularly on areas where the Institution has proven competencies that can alleviate developmental and capacity problems in identified communities.

The primary concern of our Community Engagement is to assist in making difference through upliftment, development and supporting the communities. The Institution prides itself on not just becoming involved in projects but also implementing expertise in an innovative manner to achieve sustainable improvement in the community. The institution endeavours to integrate its CE projects with various research that would benefit the community.

In order to assist Grade 12 learners in preparing for their final examinations, Richfield together with the Department of Education and Avusa Media, compiles an educational Supplement. This tool is used by Grade 12 learners to improve results and increase access into higher education. The Institution also rolls out a national project, known as The Career Guidance Programme, through visitation at schools.

Numerous other projects are undertaken to ensure the integration of the curriculum into community projects.

CIDD & Academic Senate

The Curriculum Innovation, Design and Development Committee (CIDD) comprises subject matter academic experts from public institutions, industry experts, and practising professionals. The CIDD designs and develops new programmes and reviews current programmes.

The CIDD is an innovative and effective strategy to assemble experts from diverse backgrounds to develop a curriculum, where information/feedback/inputs are also factored into teaching and learning and material development. A team of academics (subject matter experts) and other responsible stakeholders (commerce and industry, government, research organizations, distance learning experts, etc.) deliberate and decide on the structure and content of a programme.

The CIDD meets twice a year in April and September.  After the CIDD workshop, a review is undertaken where necessary, to revise curriculum content, without serious deviation from the accredited outcomes or the level (NQF) of the module and programme. This process ensures that the curriculum is updated, has cutting edge technology and is globally competitive.

The Senate is the highest academic decision-making structure of the institution and in this capacity directs academic policy and approves the recommendations of CIDD. The Senate meets twice a year in April and September, after the CIDD workshop.

Academic Faculties

Our improved programme offerings are diverse and designed to meet and exceed the needs of business, industry, government and society with diverse learning options within the following Faculties:

• Faculty of Leadership and Business Administration
• Faculty of Commerce
• Faculty of Information Technology
• Faculty of Computer Applications & Systems Engineering
• Faculty of Education, Recognition of Prior Learning, and Skills
• Faculty of Public Administration and Local Government
• Faculty of Post Graduate Studies

Graduates from Richfield remain a key resource to address the Skills Shortages in Information Technology, Business & Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Marketing, Finance and others.  Richfield graduates are ready to take on major projects requiring astute project management in the globalised economy.

The Faculties of Information Technology, Computer Applications & Systems Engineering help develop experts in the fields of emerging technologies & applications, leading to software developers, engineering gurus and computer application specialists.

Awards And Achievements

Accreditation And Registration

The Institution is registered with the Department of Higher Education as a Private Further & Higher Education and Training Provider under the Further Education and Training Colleges Act, 2006 (Reg. no. 2008/FE07/050) and the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Reg. no. 2000/HE07/008) respectively. The Institution is accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), Umalusi and numerous SETAs. It is also aligning itself to the Quality Council on Trades and Occupations (QCTO).

Regulatory Boards:

• che-logo, Accreditation and Registration
• umalusi-logo, Accreditation and Registration
• hetd-logo, Accreditation and Registration
• saqa-logo, Accreditation and Registration

Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs):

• seta-logo, Accreditation and Registration
• etdp-logo, Accreditation and Registration
• fasset-logo, Accreditation and Registration
• mict-seta-logo, Accreditation and Registration
• cathsseta-logo, Accreditation and Registration
• inseta-logo, Accreditation and Registration

Partnerships & Affiliations

In the current economic situation, it becomes mandatory for institutions to increase their networking opportunities through affiliations and partnerships. When partnerships are implemented correctly, the private sector can increase efficiency and choice, and expand access to education services, particularly for households that tend to be poorly served by traditional delivery methods.

Richfield’s relations with the private sector, encompass cooperation with business corporations, small and medium enterprises, professional and economic associations as well as other organizations of the business community, individuals, communities, parents and families.

Richfield recognizes that when we collaborate with some of the most ambitious organizations, we can multiply our impact in areas from education to economic development to poverty alleviation because of our ISO 9001:2015 accreditation status! We have enduring partnerships and affiliations with a number of like-minded organizations and leaders who are eager to help drive global change and deliver true results.

These affiliations and collaborations assist the Institution in inter alia:

• Availability of exclusive and current online resources
• Access to a variety of databases
• Conferences and seminars that staff can attend or participate in
• Networking
• Updating on latest cutting edge technology
• Placement of Students for Work Integrated Learning(WIL)
• Industry and Academic Experts as External Moderators, members of DACUM Panel and Senate
• Programme design, development, improvement and review

Some of the Technology companies include SAP University Alliance, Microsoft IT Academy, International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL), CompTIA, HCL, Certiport, Introstat, Neotel, Velsoft International, Lenovo/IBM SA , Yazmi Satellite Technologies , Durban Smart Exchange, Pinnacle Micro Limited, Mustek Limited, Axiz Work Group (Pty) Ltd, Comztek WestCon , Acer Computers South Africa.

Business and Finance affiliations include The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB), Certified Business Professional (CBP), Ethics Institute.

The Institution is a founding member of the Association of Private Providers of Education and Training (APPETD) and plays an active role in its activities. The Institution is also active in the Certified Institute of Professional Practitioners & Trainers (CIPPT), South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC).

University collaborations involve the University of South Africa (UNISA), University of Kwa Zulu Natal (UKZN), Durban University of Technology (DUT), Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), Simon Fraser University, Mahatma Gandhi University, Namibia University of Technology, University of Magdeburg.

Other Universities include:

• Queensland University of Technology, Australia
• State University of New York
• Coventry University, UK
• Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA
• Universidad La Salle, Mexico

Collaborations with publishers/learning content developers include Press Reader, Zinio, Pearsons South Africa, Book Publishers, Cambridge University Press, McGraw-Hill, Emerald, Springer, Juta, Oxford, Wiley, Elsevier, Future Managers – Siyafunda, VMEdu, Labour Law Management Consulting- Ivan Israelstam.