Gerda Dullaart

Academic leader with more than 30 years of experience in higher education teaching and learning, online and blended education, curriculum development, quality assurance and academic operations. Experienced in managing academic staff, supporting online tutors and facilitators, implementing student success initiatives, and ensuring quality delivery of programmes across multiple learning modalities in public and private higher education. Proven record of managing academic quality, accreditation processes, curriculum renewal and multi-campus programme delivery with a strong commitment to student engagement, graduate success and educational innovation.

Manager: Teaching & Learning - Stellenbosch University (SU) - Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dean's Division

(2022-06)

• Provide high-level pedagogic support to the Vice-Dean.
• Direct institutional teaching & learning processes and strategic reporting.
• Support faculty-wide curriculum transformation change management.
• Support multi-modal assessment frameworks.
• Manage statutory accreditation processes for HEQSF compliance.
• Evaluate academic programmes against strict CHE standards.
• Oversee comprehensive programmatic monitoring and evaluation.
• Coordinate academic governance case management systems.
• Drive pedagogical innovation across contact, distance and hybrid learning modes.
• Manage institutional and faculty budget and resource allocations.
• Cultivate cross-faculty academic Communities of Practice.
• Optimise student engagement and support.

Advisor: Teaching & Learning - Stellenbosch University (SU) - Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

(2019-04 - 2022-05)

• Supported teaching across face-to-face, blended, hybrid and successful pivoting to emergency online modalities during the Covid-19 period.
• Led initiatives promoting engagement with innovative teaching and learning practices across multiple campuses.
• Contributed to the development of competency-based assessment frameworks and digital teaching resources.
• Advised academic staff and clinical educators on curriculum renewal, assessment design and learning innovation.
• Supported scholarship of teaching and learning initiatives across the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences.
• Mentored academics in teaching portfolio development, reflective practice and professional learning.
• Designed and facilitated faculty development workshops, webinars and communities of practice.
• Evaluated higher education programmes for accreditation and quality enhancement for the Council on Higher Education (CHE).
• Supported curriculum and co-curricular development initiatives.
• Taught and assessed on the Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education programme for university educators.
• Served as Acting Project Manager for Finlo, Stellenbosch University's Fund for Innovation and Research into Learning and Teaching, and implemented systems to monitor and evaluate the project.
• Lead communities of practice focused on teaching innovation and scholarly exchange.
• Managed digital platforms supporting teaching resource dissemination and academic engagement, e.g. launched a blog and a website on teaching, learning and assessment.

Chief Academic Officer / Acting Registrar / Head of Curriculum Development - AFDA (Stadio Holdings) - Multiple campuses, South Africa

(2002-10 - 2019-03)

• Academic leadership for the establishment and scaling of three new higher education campuses, including governance, accreditation, staffing models, quality assurance systems, research development and institutional readiness.
• Conceptualised, developed, and secured accreditation for 6 new HEQSF-aligned undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
• Scaled internal quality assurance (QA) and delivery systems seamlessly across 5 geographically dispersed national campuses.
• Engineered robust Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assessment systems to widen student access within tight regulatory boundaries.
• Chaired the institutional Academic Standards Committee and the AFDA Senate to drive collaborative policy development and continuous quality improvement.
• Supervised all strategic institutional preparations for statutory site visits and programmatic accreditation and audits by the CHE.
• Implemented student support systems: student-at-risk tracking, bridging mechanisms, and summer school frameworks to increase retention and throughput.
• Managed the operational academic calendar, lecturing resource allocation, and multi-campus institutional budgets.
• Recruited, onboarded, and managed performance for national multi-disciplinary academic cohorts across NQF levels 5–9.
• Spearheaded academic change-management strategies to onboard lecturers during institutional phases of innovation, mergers and transitions.
• Served as External Examiner at postgraduate level for Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town, reviewer for CHE accreditation process, and research supervisor.

Internet Subeditor & Journalist - News24, Media24

(1998 - 2002)

• High-accuracy English subediting, translation of financial news, and copy editing.

Environmental Education Officer & Corporate Social Responsibility Consultant - KZN Wildlife, WESSA, & Illovo Sugar

(1999 - 2000)

• Presented environmental education initiatives in collaboration with colleagues and communities.
• Authored funding proposals, managed community development, and ran multi-stakeholder media campaigns.

Arts & Entertainment Editor / Journalist - City Vision Newspaper, Media24

(1995 - 1999)

• Arts Editor responsible for editorial planning, journalism and production.

Visiting Curriculum Researcher & Educator - Universiteit Utrecht & International School of Amsterdam - Netherlands

(1993 - 1994)

• Executed international research into higher education transformation, digital learning systems
• Taught comparative literature at Matric/IB level.

Junior Lecturer: General Literary Theory - North-West University

(1992 - 1995)

• Designed outcomes-based workplace curricula and student support systems
• Volunteered supplementary English tuition and literacy training for township Grade 12 students.

High School Teacher (Grade 10–12) - Moshaweng High School - Bophuthatswana

(1991 - 1991)

• Taught Second Language Afrikaans to remote, marginalized student groups
• National Matric exam assessor (1990– 1992).

Committee & Educational Officer - National Road Safety Council

(1990 - 1990)

• Authored corporate reports and designed multi-media educational campaigns for senior national safety steering committees.

Ph.D. - General Linguistics and Literary Theory - North-West University (2002-09)

M Phil - Higher Education Studies - University of Cape Town (2011)

BA (Honours) - Literary Theory - North-West University (1992)

BA - Literary Theory and Linguistics and Art History - North-West University (1989)