“It is with great pride and excitement that we welcome Dr Sefora Alice Mkuzangwe to the University of Venda as the new Director of the Department of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance. Dr Mkuzangwe brings a wealth of expertise and a proven track record of excellence in higher education leadership, governance, and quality assurance. Her appointment marks a significant step forward in our commitment to strengthening academic planning, advancing quality standards, and ensuring institutional effectiveness. We look forward to her contributions in driving UNIVEN’s vision of producing graduates that are locally relevant and globally competitive,” said Professor Eucebious (Sebi) Lekalakala-Mokgele, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Teaching and Learning. Dr Sefora Alice Mkuzangwe has been appointed as the new Director of the Department of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance at the University of Venda (UNIVEN), effective 01 October 2025. She brings over 20 years of progressive leadership experience in higher education administration, establishing herself as a leading expert in academic governance, academic planning, and quality assurance.
She holds a PhD in Education Management from UNISA and an MPhil in Higher Education from the University of Stellenbosch. She is also an alumna of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where she completed Management Development Programmes, and she holds a Certificate in Higher Education Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research expertise spans higher education policy and planning, quality assurance, academic governance systems, and student access and success. She has published extensively on institutional effectiveness in Open Distance Learning (ODL), pivoting academic planning as a strategic lever, and quality management in higher education. Dr Mkuzangwe currently supervises Master’s students and has presented her research at numerous national and international conferences.
Throughout her distinguished career, Dr Mkuzangwe has held pivotal leadership roles, including Acting Executive Director for Academic Planning, Director for Programme Accreditation and Registration, and Project Director in the Office of the Vice-Principal: Teaching and Learning. She was instrumental in managing South Africa’s largest Programme and Qualification Mix at UNISA, overseeing more than 500 qualifications and 750 programmes. Her expertise in regulatory compliance includes work with the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). She contributed to the 2015 CHE Reference Group in developing quality management guidelines for continuing education and served on the 2014 Ministerial Task Team, which reviewed non-formal short courses in South Africa.
Dr Mkuzangwe’s outstanding contributions have been recognised through accolades, including the UNISA Women of the Year Award in 2023 and a nomination for the 2020 Chair of Council Award for Excellence in Leadership at UNISA. She is an active member of the Society for College and University Planning (USA) and the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE). As an emerging scholar, her research continues to focus on the scholarship of planning, policy, and quality assurance in higher education, with particular emphasis on curriculum, academic planning, and institutional governance.
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University of Venda
Tel: 082 868 2218 / 082 868 1811
