The IIE's Varsity College

Who is the IIE

The Independent Institute of Education is South Africa’s largest registered and accredited private provider of higher education. The IIE's Varsity College, a brand of The IIE, leads in the provision of these exciting learning initiatives of The IIE. The IIE is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a private higher education provider, has more than 57 qualifications accredited by the Higher Education Quality Committee, and is a subsidiary of ADvTECH Ltd, a public company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. This scale and status assure our leading position in higher education.

Working with the academics and the rest of the team at the brands The IIE’s Central Academic Team assures the quality of the work done by all of the brands and manages the curriculum, its assessment, and all certification. A governance structure that includes a Senate, Teaching, and Learning Committee and Faculty Boards oversees the development and implementation of academic policies that enable the exceptional quality of the learning experiences on campus and online.

The quality assurance system includes peer reviews of lecturers and tutors, program reviews involving academics and people from the industry, and a range of student success and graduate tracking projects.

Studying at The IIE's Varsity College

In line with global best practice, The IIE's Varsity College has shifted away from the ‘traditional lecturing’ method where students sit passively, listening to the subject expert. We believe that this approach to teaching has lost relevance for students entering the world of work today. Internet connectivity, access to information, social networks, and mobility have changed the context of learning. To this end, our teaching methods have been adapted to support students with building knowledge and developing skills for the 21st century.

The IIE’s Varsity College teaching philosophy is grounded in an authentic, modern, blended-learning student experience. We aim to ensure that your academic life is as relevant and participative as possible. Learning, we believe, is a dynamic engagement with others and new sources of information. Our unique, interactive approach means you are able to participate actively in your studies while connecting with others to collaborate, create and communicate in a digitally fluent manner in order to build understanding and develop critical thinking.

Our Academic Staff

At The IIE's Varsity College, our lecturers are highly qualified and, in many instances, actively engage with their professional field. Having lecturers with industry experience provides you with insight into current industry practice and brings your subject’s theory vividly to life, stimulating discussion and creating a sense of what’s in store for you out there. It’s all about having a finger on the pulse of your chosen career. With their experience coming from the outside world, you might be wondering how these industry experts are equipped with sound teaching practices. Good question. Lecturers at The IIE's Varsity College connect in a dynamic online teaching practice community to keep abreast of new technologies, to enhance learning, and to network globally on modern teaching methods. They are further guided by a campus-based support team which includes a Technology Enhanced Learning Champion (innovative educational technologist) and an Academic Development Coordinator (teaching expert) to stay up to speed with the best teaching practices. The IIE's Varsity College teaching team is provided with development workshop/webinar opportunities throughout the year and are further supported by a peer review system, a measure that ensures all teaching methodologies result in quality learning. Investing in such an extent in our academic team might seem like a great deal of effort. It is, but the education we offer is only as good as those who deliver it. At The IIE's Varsity College, we make it our business to ensure that The IIE’s Varsity College lecturers are as qualified and equipped for their role as possible.

Small classes, big academic benefits

In keeping with this personalized approach, your progress at The IIE's Varsity College is monitored by a Programme Coordinator, a lecturer who keeps an eye on your overall academic performance and who ensures that you receive the support you need, should you encounter difficulties. Simply put, your Programme Coordinator is there to make sure that nothing stands in the way of your academic success.

Over and above formal tests and exams, your lecturers will assess you on a continual basis. This may sound a little intimidating, but all it really means is that we are able to check that the correct learning is taking place. It also means that if you’re having difficulties with a subject, your lecturer will pick up on it before you fall too far behind, and give you the extra attention required to bring you up to speed.

Putting theory into practice

Our campuses have wireless internet hotspots to enable connectivity inside and outside the classroom for a truly blended learning experience. Students are encouraged to BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) to support this new mode of connected learning. New digital literacies and fluencies are a focus of development for both students and lecturers as new digital learning media and Web 2.0 applications are incorporated into the learning design. Lecturers will draw on appropriate technologies in class to support particular learning activity and will engage with students in new online spaces such as Blackboard (VCLearn), blogs, and backchannel tools. This ensures that every student has a voice in the learning community and the opportunity to collaborate, create, and critically reflect in order to demonstrate learning. While new cloud-based learning media are explored in a variety of ways, we also provide each student with access to a range of other supportive platforms such as our online Career Centre, BLUEprint (a framework for student support and success), Ebrary, and Ebscohost online research resources and eBooks. You will also have access to the closed The IIE’s Varsity College Student Portal on our integrated academic management system where you can access timetables, program information, financial statements, and online discussion forums with your lecturers. We ensure that students graduate, not only with a qualification but with an approach towards the world of work and knowledge that will set them firmly on the path of becoming self-disciplined, independent thinkers.