Investigating the importance of an advancement office at a South African university

MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusTraditionally many Higher Education Institutions have strongly relied on first stream income (government subsidies) and second stream income (Student Fees or Tuition). The problem, however, arises when tuition and government subsidies no longer suffice to keep the university viable. A decrease in government subsidies to Public Universities and other institutions of higher learning has become a global trend and the option of increasing tuition fees in a period of “Fees Must Fall� campaigns is no longer a viable solution in South Africa (Craig & Abrahams, 2009:10). Faced with this situation, universities have been forced to focus on establishing an advancement office that is mandated to generate third-stream income to meet the demands for additional funds required. However, such an advancement office requires the involvement, commitment and support of management and all other stakeholders such as the office of the Vice-Chancellor, Alumni office, private business – among others. Against this backdrop, and using North-West University as a case for reference, the current study sought to investigate the role and importance of an advancement office at a university, the role played by the Vice-Chancellor’s office and the role played by the Alumni office in addressing the financial shortfalls that a South African university faces. A survey questionnaire was designed, and the data collected from the university was statistically analysed using SPSS 23 Statistical software. The research findings indicated the advancement office is critical to the successful third-stream income generation at the university. The result further indicated that the office of the Vice-Chancellor should guide the advancement office to avoid reputational damages to the university. The Alumni office was also found to be critical in supporting the advancement office’s resource mobilisation responsibility. Based on these research findings, some recommendations were made by this study for possible consideration by a university.Master