Abstract
The increasing pace of globalisation, is not only affecting the shape and mode of operation of HEIs, but also their purpose. HEIs in South Africa are no exception to this challenge, as they are now also under pressure to meet global standards in order to be able to compete with the best in the world. Alt (2002, 9) adds that increasing globalisation of higher education and the consequent extension of “competition” beyond regional and national boundaries, will make it inevitable for HEIs in South Africa to look at practices in other countries to inform their decisions i.e. institutions will have to benchmark.
The functions of HEIs are teaching, research and community engagement. While there is a major focus on teaching, there is a shift towards promoting research at traditional universities and universities of technology. This goal is supported by the HEIs. For instance, the University of Johannesburg (UJ), a comprehensive university offering both academic and technological study programmes, iterates that “research remains a top priority of the university as it enables the development of distinguished scholarship, the collective outcome of which must be teaching excellence. Research is also the source for new knowledge” (Research Top Priority at UJ 2007, 1)...