• Higher Education Enrolment Services Programme
  
  1. National Information Service for Higher Education (NiSHE)
     
     To provide information and guidance to prospective HE students, schools, parents and the public.
     
  
  
  2. Matriculation Board/Minimum Admissions Service
     
     To administer the MB regulations as required by law for the 2006 and 2007 Senior Certificate examinations, and entry into public HE in 2007 and 2008, and to set equivalence and regulate minimum admissions thresholds for both diploma and degree study in public and private HE for the 2008 examinations onwards, in close interaction with information, benchmarking and system flow functions.
     
  
  
  3. National Benchmark Tests Project
     
     To develop national tests in the broad domains of academic literacy/language proficiency, quantitative literacy/numeracy and mathematics in order to-
     
     1. benchmark entry level proficiencies of students across institutional types;
     2. assess the relationship between entry level proficiencies and school-level exit outcomes;
     3. provide a service to HEIs requiring additional information in the admission and placement of students; and
     4. Inform the nature of foundation courses/extended curriculum programmes and curriculum responsiveness.
  
  
  4. Monitoring of Systems Flow:Enrolment,throughput/retention and graduation rates
  The overall goal of this project is to ensure the consistent monitoring of patterns and trends in sector enrolment, throughput/retention and graduation in order to provide accurate information and analyses on system flow, efficiencies and strategic sector action that may be deemed necessary.
  
  
  
  Of specific and immediate concern is the high drop-out rate of students (estimated to be 50%) when the overall goal is to achieve greater efficiencies as well as alignment with the social and economic needs of SA society.
  


• Higher Education HIV/AIDS Programme
  
  The HEAIDS Programme is a nationally coordinated large-scale effort to develop and strengthen the capacity, systems and structures of all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to prevent, manage, and mitigate the causes, challenges and consequences of HIV/AIDS in the sub-sector. The overall objective of the Programme is to support the Department of Education in achieving its vision of a national education and training system which contributes towards improving the quality of life and prosperity of all its citizens, specifically with respect to the Higher Education sub-sector.
  
  
  
  The Programme promotes the provision of appropriate and sustainable HIV/AIDS services and programmes for both staff and students within a policy and funding framework. It arose from the success of the joint SAUVCA/CTP/DoE HEAIDS Programme implemented from 2002 to 2005. It was designed after consultation with relevant stakeholders including government officials, NGOs, sectoral role-players and European Union Member States. Beneficiaries are integral to the process of determining the scope of the various interventions.
  
  
  
  Through the Department of Education, the European Union has provided €20 million to support the Programme for the period 1 Dec 2005 - 31 May 2009.
  




• Higher Education Leadership and Management Programme
  
  HELM is viewed as a direct response to sectoral governance, leadership and management capacity needs as identified in various surveys and reports and locates these within a developmental context. Its underlying aim is to guide, assist, and support HE leadership in successfully navigating the constant challenges of change and effectively interpreting the operational impact, of internal and external drivers. HELM's mission is to explore and create effective solutions that address organisational and individual capacity gaps in leadership and management.

Higher Education South Africa (HESA) was formed on 9 May 2005, as the successor to the two statutory representative organisations for universities and technikons (now universities of technology), the South African Universities Vice-Chancellors Association (SAUVCA) and the Committee of Technikon Principals (CTP). The launch of HESA was in part driven by the restructuring of the higher education sector, which resulted in the establishment of new institutional types, but also by the need for a strong, unified body of leadership. HESA represents all 23 public universities and universities of technology in South Africa and is a section 21 company.