Draft Layout of the Chuss Strategic Plan (2011/12 1017/2018)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Introduction 2

Preparation of The College Strategic Plan 3

The College Mandate 4

Vision Statement 4

Mission Statement 4

Core Values 5

Strategic Goals And Objectives 5

Core Functions 5

Support Functions 5

Environmental Scan 6

Core Functions 9

Teaching And Learning 9

Research And Innovation 12

Partnership, Collaboration And Networking 13

Support Functions 15

Human Resource 15

Library Services 16

Physical Infrastructure 17

Information & Communication Technology 18

Organisation And Management 19

Resource Mobilisation And Management 20

Staff And Student Support Services 22

Cross Cutting Issues 23

Quality Assurance 23

Gender Responsive Functions 25

Internationalization 26

Monitoring And Evaluation 27

List of Acronyms

CHUSS College of Humanities

SSS School of Social Sciences

SLPA School of Liberal and Performing Arts

SWGS School of Women and Gender Studies

SLLC School of Languages, Literature & Communication

MISR Makerere Institute of Social Research

SPSY School of Psychology

SPS Senior Personal Secretary

BA/A Bachelor of Arts in Arts

ICT Information and Communication Technology

MAWAZO

NGO Non Governmental Organizations

PWDs Persons With Disabilities

UOTIA University and Other Tertiary Institutions

IT Information Technology

QA Quality Assurance

Acknowledgement

The College Strategic Plan Drafting Committee appreciates the contribution of the academic, administrative and support staff of the constituent units of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The earlier efforts that went into the development of the overall University Strategic Plan and the then Faculties and Institute are greatly appreciated. The plan is an outcome of the contribution of every member of the College and the University so we thank everybody for their invaluable participation towards this desired goal. Our partners in varied capacities that contributed to the constituent units Plans are greatly appreciated.

The commitment and enthusiasm in harmonizing the plans of different units together into a College Strategic Plan by the members of the Drafting Committee is acknowledged and highly commended. In the same spirit, the Principal, the Deputy Principal, the College Registrar, the Team Leader Finance and the staff of the Principal’s office provided invaluable support in chairing and guiding the process.

Finally, we acknowledge the staff of the Schools, Institute and Centres who participated in the process of developing the plan. Ms Justine Naggujja, the Senior Personal Secretary in the Principal’s Office is thanked in a special way for compiling the record of the proceedings.

Executive Summary

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences was formally established on the 1st of February 2011. In this regard, the new Strategic Plan is a product of the amalgamation and harmonization of the 2008/09-2018/19 Strategic Plans of the constituent units of the College. The Strategic Plan is cognizant of the new Collegiate system of Makerere University. The College prides itself of being the largest College of Makerere University in terms of the student population, the constituent units and the number of courses and programmes offered. It is also the most versatile in terms of servicing other Colleges of the University.

The College is made up of five schools and one institute. These comprise of the School of Liberal and Performing Arts (SLPA); the School of Languages, Literature and Communications (SLLC); the School of Social Sciences (SSS); the School of Women and Gender Studies (SWGS); the School of Psychology (SP); and, the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR). Under the Schools and the Principal’s Office, the College will have Centres of Excellence and Services provision to enhance the knowledge transfer partnerships and networking. Of those operational include the Centre for Language and Communication Services and the Centre for Psychological Service.

The CHUSS Strategic Plan is situated within the broader context of the overall University Strategic Plan that seeks to re-position Makerere University to meet emerging national and international development challenges. In consonance with the current Makerere University Strategic Plan, the CHUSS Strategic Plan which will run from 2011/12 to 2018/19.

The College, in operationalising her specific Strategic Plan, seeks to utilize her disciplinary comparative advantage of a critical and practical study and understanding of the human thought, behavior, social, economic and political dynamics as they relate to the individual and societal socio-economic development. The Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines utilized in a multi and cross-disciplinary manner, taking advantage of the social research capabilities as well as cross-cutting issues of Gender, quality assurance and collaboration and international networking will be the hallmark of applying the University core functions of teaching and learning, research and innovations, and knowledge transfer partnerships and networking. The Strategic Plan takes special emphasis in enhancing support functions that create for a conducive environment for members of staff, students and partners of CHUSS to prosper. The support functions goals catered for in the Strategic Plan include: prompting and maintaining a high quality human resource base, effective and efficient library services, robust physical infrastructure, infusion of ICT in the core functions, improved organizational and management systems, resource mobilization and management, as well as staff and student support services.

CHUSS is mandated to teach, carry out research and disseminate knowledge in all the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. It is also the mandate of the College to inform policy, programmes and decision makers through translation of research to policy, public engagement and monitoring social development. The College aims to make it possible for students to access various courses offered throughout the college; enhance opportunities for joint and interdisciplinary teaching, research and networking activities among staff and students; and, provide a conducive environment for joint efforts in resource mobilization and management. In all this it is envisioned that CHUSS will “excel in the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge in the areas of human thought and behaviour as they relate to socio-economic development”.

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INTRODUCTION

The Humanities and Social Sciences are some of the oldest sets of disciplines at Makerere University. Over the years varied Departments, institutes and faculties have evolved. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) was formed by Council decision of January 2011 and became operational on 1st February 2011. It was a culmination of University Council’s proclamation in 2006 of collegisation of the University.

The College is made up of five schools and one institute as follows: (i) the School of Psychology (SPY); (ii) the School of Women and Gender Studies (SGWS); (iii) the School of Social Sciences (SSS); (iv) the School of Liberal and Performing Arts (SLPA); (v) the School of Languages, Literature and Communications (SLLC); and (vi) the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR).

CHUSS is one of the largest colleges in the University in terms of the student population, the constituent units and the number of courses and programmes offered. Currently it has a student population of 7586 Undergraduates and 555 graduate students. CHUSS at present has 34 fully-fledged academic programs made up of 12 undergraduate and 22 graduate programs. Of these, the largest in student enrolment are the Bachelor of Arts in Arts made up of 19 subjects or distinct disciplines and the Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences made up of 8 subjects or distinct disciplines.

The College is situated on the Main Campus of Makerere University. At present it is housed in the buildings of the former Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Social Sciences, the Women and Gender Studies, the Music, Dance and Drama (MDD) buildings, the former Institute of Psychology and the premises of the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR).

The University in general and CHUSS in particular stand to benefit from the collegiate system. The benefits accruing from this system include:

·  Decongesting the centre in terms of administration and service delivery and transferring some central functions to lower units;

·  Allowing colleges to enjoy a higher degree of administrative autonomy than hitherto granted to Faculties, institutes and Centres;

·  Creating greater harmony and interaction among hitherto competing units (Faculties, Institutes and Centres);

·  Allowing for further cooperation among the staff and students of the College and enhancing the sharing of all College facilities and services;

·  Harmonizing and streamlining of all the courses offered in the College to avoid duplication and enhance cost-effectiveness;

·  Making it possible for students to access various courses offered throughout the college;

·  Enhancing opportunities for joint and interdisciplinary teaching, research and networking activities among staff and students;

·  Providing a conducive environment for joint efforts in resource mobilization and management.

Preparation of the College Strategic Plan

It is important to note that the former Faculties and Institutes that currently constitute the College of Humanities and Social Sciences already had their own strategic plans, which were crafted on the University Strategic Plan. When the University went into a collegiate system, it became imperative for each College to have its own strategic plan. This plan had to conform to the Makerere University Strategic Plan 2008/09 – 2018/2019.

A Drafting Committee was constituted consisting of one representative from the six units of the College, under the chair of the Principal and the Deputy Principal. The Administrative and support staff were represented by the College Registrar and the College Team Leader of Finance. The Committee held consultations with the different stakeholders in the college, organized a retreat to harmonize different positions and then produced a working document. The working document was further scrutinized by the College Administrative and Academic Boards, on behalf of the membership of the College, in a joint meeting before a final report was made.

The following were the members of the Drafting Committee:

1. Prof. Oswald Ndoleriire Ag. Principal/Chairman

2. Prof. Edward K. Kirumira Ag. Deputy Principal

3. Dr. Eria Olowo Onyango Representative, SSS

4. Dr. Jessica Kaahwa Representative, SLPA

5. Dr. May Sengendo Representative, SWGS

6. Dr. Benge Okot Representative, SLLC

7. Mr. Richard Kibombo Representative, MISR

8. Mr. Paul Nyende Representative, SPSY

9. Mr. Vincent Ekwang College Registrar, CHUSS (Secretariat)

10. Ms Enid Sajjabi Team Leader Finance, CHUSS (Secretariat)

11. Ms Justine Naggujja SPS, CHUSS (Secretariat)

The task of the Drafting Committee was:-

i)  To study the Makerere University Strategic Plan 2008/09-2018/19.

ii)  To study the different strategic plans from the former Units of CHUSS.

iii)  To add in the plan any new elements that the situation demanded.

The College Mandate

CHUSS is mandated to teach, carry out research and disseminate knowledge in all the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. It is also the mandate of the College to inform policy, programmes and decision makers through translation of research to policy, public engagement and monitoring social development.

It is incumbent upon CHUSS to scan and assess the socio-economic environment of Uganda and beyond, to analyse and promote the people’s cultures, languages and traditions, to guide in the formulation of policies that should inform decision makers and the public at large and generally speaking, to look critically and advise on issues of governance, respect of human rights and ethical matters in society. It is also part of CHUSS broader mandate to inform policy and decision makers on the urgent need for multi-disciplinarity in the education system so as to reduce unnecessary compartmentalization at University but also at lower levels of education. That is why practically the majority of cross-cutting courses offered to the whole University are from CHUSS. These include Gender Studies, Communication Skills, Development Studies, Critical Thinking, Ethical Issues and Research Methods.

It is important to emphasize the role of Humanities and Social Sciences in enhancing steady and reliable scientific progress. Indeed, Science and Humanities inform each other. All societies that have reached greater heights in scientific innovations are invariably those that have preserved their history, culture, traditions, philosophical thoughts and who communicate among themselves using their own languages. It has been argued that without a solid foundation in Humanities and Social Sciences, science and technological pursuits and indeed national development can only thrive on very shaky ground. The Humanities and Social Sciences provide the key for unlocking the potential of individuals and society to develop and also to adopt and adapt to scientific and technological advances.

Vision Statement

To be the leading institution for academic excellence and innovations in Africa

The College intends to excel in the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge in the areas of human thought and behaviour as they relate to socio-economic development.

Mission Statement

To provide a conducive environment for training, research and dissemination activities in view of producing the most competitive and relevant graduates in the humanities and social sciences for the regional and global markets.

Core Values

Six core values guide the College Strategic Plan and the operation of the core and support functions in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Namely:

§  Professionalism

§  Integrity

§  Customer Responsiveness

§  Team Work

§  Corporate Social Responsibility

§  Gender Sensitivity

Strategic Goals and Objectives

The eight College strategic goals and objectives are embedded in two main categories: the core functions and the support functions.

A. Core Functions

1.  Teaching and Learning – in line with the University goal of emphasis on Learner Centeredness

2.  Research and Innovations

3.  Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and Networking – the College seek to emphasize partnerships and collaboration as well as knowledge translation, dissemination and transfer.

B. Support Functions

1.  Human Resource Development

2.  Library Services

3.  Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

4.  Physical Infrastructure

5.  Organization and Management

6.  Resource Mobilization and Financial Management

7.  Staff and Student Support Services

8.  Cross-cutting Issues

-  Quality Assurance

-  Gender Issues

-  Collaboration and International Networking

Environmental Scan

In consonance with the current Makerere University Strategic Plan, the CHUSS Strategic Plan which will run from 2011/12 to 2018/19 will reflect the major issues as outlined in the University plan.