History & Context

Established in 1904, Rhodes University is a relatively small institution in semi-rural Grahamstown. In 2002, the South African higher education sector underwent a major sizing and shaping exercise  in the form of the activities that led to the National Plan for Higher Education (NPHE).  As a result of this exercise, three main institutional types were identified. They were traditional universities responsible for offering formative and professional qualifications, universities of technology responsible for offering vocationally focused qualifications, and Comprehensive Universities offering a combination of the two.  Within the traditional universities, a small group of universities identified as ‘research intensive’ were left untouched by the mergers and incorporations that followed, largely because they contributed 80% of the research output identified as critical to economic growth in national planning.  Rhodes University was one of this small group although its East London campus was lost to the University of Fort Hare at this time.

The University consistently attracts staff and students of high calibre. The University is also known for excellence in research and for one of the highest student success and graduation rates for public higher education institutions in the country. With fiscal stability, good leadership, effective management and depth of administrative capacity, Rhodes is positioned to contribute significantly to the development of the Eastern Cape Province and the higher educational landscape in South Africa.

The University’s small size (? 8000 students) and rural, small-town location have conferred on Rhodes a particular set of advantages and challenges which have shaped its development. These must be taken into account when planning for the future. Two such are that the majority of student enrolments are from outside of Grahamstown,  which has resulted in a residential system that has set the standard in the tertiary sector. However, the cost of tuition and accommodation to middle- and lower-income families has become exclusionary.

The University provides a conducive space for intellectual activity that has strengthened the Grahamstown experience. It serves as a place for vigorous debate and activism on a range of social, political and educational issues. The University incubates, grows and matures many ideas. For example, the National Arts Festival, the Science Festival, the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, the National English Literary Museum, the Albany History Museum, the SKA initiative, and the Institute for Water Research are amongst the most successful initiatives initiated and/or incubated at Rhodes University.

Grahamstown provides the University with a microcosm of the challenges facing South Africa. This serves as a basis for thinking about how young people may best be educated and equipped with powerful knowledge for lifelong service to the country, the African continent and beyond.

Organizational Structure

The Chancellor is the titular head of the Rhodes University and is empowered in the name of the University to confer all degrees. The Vice-Chancellor and Principal is the chief academic and administrative officer of the University. The University Executive comprises the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Student Affairs), the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development), the Registrar and the Executive Director: Infrastructure, Operations and Finance.

The academic structure of Rhodes University is organised around six faculties: Humanities, Science, Commerce, Pharmacy, Law, and Education. Each academic faculty is led by a Dean. There are thirty-five academic departments within the six faculties. These provide an extensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and research interests for students and academics. Each academic department is led by the Head of Department. Rhodes University also has a number of research institutes and centres.

Rhodes University's administrative and support divisions provide support for the operations of the University and contribute to the attainment of strategic goals of the University. The divisions include;  Student Affairs, Human Resources, Finance, Library Services, Special Services, Institutional Planning, Internationalization, Communications and Advancement,  Equity and Institutional Culture, Research, Information Technology Services, Estates and Residences. The administrative and support divisions are led by their respective Directors. 

Rhodes University Governance & Management Organogram

Rhodes University, in line with the Higher Education Act 101 (1997 as amended), embraces the principles of good governance, promoting cooperative governance, at all levels and within all committees.  In the spirit of cooperative governance, Rhodes University works cooperatively with government, civil society constituencies as well as intra-institutionally.  In this regard, the University Council has adopted the King IV framework on good governance.

Enrolment Trends

Rhodes is a small university, which enjoys the distinction of having among the best undergraduate success and graduation rates in South Africa. This is testimony to the quality of students that Rhodes attracts and to the academic provision made for them, and also to the commitment of Rhodes staff to student development and success. Of our more than 8000 students, 30% are postgraduates and over 18% are international students from 54 countries around the world, making Rhodes a dynamic and cosmopolitan knowledge institution. With the most favourable academic staff-to-student ratio among South African universities, Rhodes students are guaranteed easy access to academics and close supervision.

In knowledge production, Rhodes University has consolidated its position as a research-intensive institution since the early 2000s. It consistently ranks in either first or second position in terms of per capita research outputs, that is the number of publications and postgraduate graduations per permanent academic staff number.  In 2018, Rhodes University is in first place in terms of per capita outputs. The University has one of the largest proportions of postgraduate students and has amongst the best postgraduate through-put and graduation rates in the country. There is thus ample evidence of Rhodes University fulfilling the mandate identified for it in the NPHE processes

Table 1 presents a detailed set of enrolment indicators; access indicators, success indicators, efficiency indicators, as well as research indicators. These indicators include the University’s ministerially approved enrolment target in the current enrolment cycle (2013 to 2019). The enrolment projections are extended to 2022 following the span of the strategy from   2018 to 2022 and realistic assessment of actual performance in the recent past years.

The strategic goals and objectives presented in sections 4 & 5 as well as other plans/partnerships of the Rhodes University are mainly channelled to nurture the achievement of the University’s enrolment targets.