Communications Context and Need
South Africa of post-1994 and the current higher education landscape presents both challenges and opportunities to Rhodes which needs to be carefully thought through and negotiated.
Some of the challenges entail assisting the country to educate a growing number of students particularly those from economically poor backgrounds, this in a context of a tough higher education funding environment given the country’s competing and pressing development and growth needs. Internally, this means the expansion of academic programmes and infrastructure is constraint by limited resources which is compounded by the size of Rhodes (as the smallest University in the country) and its small town base.
While the challenges may seem daunting, the University is presented with a range of opportunities largely made possible by the strength of its teaching and research programmes, which has made Rhodes one of the enviable institutions in the country based on the following:
- Rhodes has a proud academic reputation and is well-known for scholarship and producing high quality graduates;
- Enjoys the distinction of having the best undergraduate pass rates and graduation rates in South Africa, and outstanding postgraduate success rates;
- Has one of the highest proportions of academic staff with doctoral degrees, and has among the best research output per academic staff member of any university in South Africa; and
- Among South African universities, Rhodes has one of the most favourable academic staff to student ratios.
In order to deal with the challenges and exploit current and future opportunities, Rhodes has had to embark on a comprehensive planning and strategy development process. This process has led to the identification of the need to more strategically engage with key (internal and external) stakeholder communities, with a view to getting its plans, programmes and projects well understood and actively supported.
This need comes with the realisation that even the best laid out strategies and plans cannot be attained without the support of key stakeholders.
Thus a well organised, focused and strategic Communication and Marketing Division is required to assist the institution in communicating and engaging effectively and efficiently with its chosen and key stakeholders.
