Abstract:
The bureaucratic and academic nature of higher education institutions (HEIs),
coupled with their complex organisational structures, extensive vertical
hierarchies and large numbers of staff in need of communication, are believed
to often hamper their internal communication processes. This is, to a great
extent, also the case in the South African higher education arena. This article
reports on a study that aimed to undertake research that would direct the
development of a framework for improving internal communication at South
African multi-campus universities. The framework would not only boast of
features which are regarded as good practice by companies in the corporate
sector, but also features based on the recommendations and suggestions of
communication executives from seven multi-campus universities in South
Africa. A mixed methods research design was employed. The research indicates
that communication should be established as a core business value, and be
advocated on all levels. The findings also suggest that management should be
evaluated on their communication skills; regular monitoring of the effectiveness
of communication at main and distance campuses should take place; whilst
communication channels for feedback should be established. The internal
communication framework outlined in the article may aid multi-campus
universities to attain higher levels of excellence, which will subsequently result
in greater business impact and more funding opportunities.
