The Harry and Doris Crossley Foundation recently participated in the IPASA Higher Education Funder Seminar, which brought together philanthropic foundations supporting higher education. The seminar aimed to address the current crisis in higher education, particularly focusing on funding challenges and issues affecting the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). Given the significant number of students reliant on NSFAS, the seminar emphasized the importance of philanthropic sector responses to these challenges and fostering collaboration to ensure continued access to higher education.
Representatives from Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town, and Universities South Africa, alongside various philanthropic foundations, gathered to discuss these pressing issues. A representative from Stellenbosch University provided an economic perspective on the crisis, outlining its causes and an alternative response. The University of Cape Town shared insights into how the crisis was impacting them and their response measures thus far. Universities South Africa presented an overview of the current state of higher education and shared a potential funding model. A panel discussion chaired by Linda Whitfield of the Harry Crossley Foundation featured representatives from the HCI Foundation, the Mauerberger Foundation Fund, and the Andreas and Susan Struengmann Foundation. They shared the challenges they faced and the strategies they were implementing in response to the situation.
Towards the end of the session, several foundations, including the Harry Crossley Foundation, expressed their commitment to establishing a committee to facilitate collaborative efforts within the sector.
To read more about this event read here.