ODDE Strategic Positioning in the Post-COVID-19 Era: A Case Study from South Africa

Abstract

This chapter considers some of the challenges of the development of strategy, both for the conventional and ODDE sectors of higher education, with a brief look at the literature since strategic planning was first in vogue in the private sector in the early 1960s. Although the most common approach in higher education, so much so-called strategic planning does little to advance long-term visions and strategies or to differentiate one institution from another. The sudden pivot to online learning and other distance education that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced on conventional (contact) institutions has blurred distinctions between traditional and ODDE universities, thus rendering effective strategy development and implementation more important than ever. This chapter conducts the literature review considering both institutional and system-wide strategy development, underlining their common elements. Then, from the unique vantage point of the South African Institute of Distance Education (Saide), a nongovernmental organization based in Johannesburg but conducting projects throughout South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, it discusses the challenges for ODDE strategy development in the particular context of COVID-19. The chapter concludes with implications from the analysis for both the conventional and ODDE sectors in higher education in South Africa and elsewhere based, in part, on the lessons learned during the pandemic.