The Commerce Transformation Committee (CTC) is committed to the university transformation journey and has adopted a value system that includes Transparency, Accountability, Empathy, Safety and Positive Wellbeing. 

The CTC has set out clear goals to facilitate Transformation and Equity in the Faculty of Commerce and place Transformation and Equity on the agenda of faculty structures.

Central to the CTC goals are the principles of excellence through diversity, inclusion, access for all, maintaining the momentum required for driving social change.

By following these principles, the CTC aims to contribute towards the basic rights of persons to human dignity, social justice, freedom and equality.

“I believe our overall transformation imperative in Commerce relates to the graduates we produce. We need to recognise our responsibility in developing graduates who are not just vocational specialists but leaders in the commercial space who are equipped to address the unique challenges we face as a deeply unequal society. It is therefore also vital for us to start at home and view our day to day activities through the lens of the decolonisation project and how we can address the inequalities within our own spaces.”

The university framework for transformation speaks to building inclusivity in 6 core areas.

The Commerce Faculty recognises the challenges of historic social imbalance and discrimination affecting our multicultural nation. The faculty is resolutely committed to creating an environment of dialogue, empathy, and inclusion in the university community to address our society's challenges.

What is the university doing?

• Reviewing the academic programme, the academic calendar, the curriculum and assessments to address obstacles to academic success.
• Increasing financial aid, including aid for students who do not qualify for NSFAS support.
• Growing the student housing pool by securing off-campus private residences and building a new residence.
• Addressing student hunger through a task team on food security.
• Enhancing the university’s mental health policy with additional services, including advocacy and awareness, and investigating the inclusion of traditional practices.

For more information on the above points please visit this link.

The journey towards transformation begins by identifying the change and the culture we want at UCT and proceeds by committing each member of the UCT community to pursue our desired culture and change – every day.

The Strategic Plan of the university – Vision 2030 was developed to give expression to UCT’s massive transformative purpose – “Unleash human potential to create a fair and just society” – in the core academic functions, the cross-cutting responsibilities of transformation and social responsiveness, and the systems that support and sustain UCT’s work. It belongs to – and is the responsibility of – every member of the UCT community.

There are three pillars at the core of vision 2030:

• Excellence 
• Transformation 
• Sustainability 

UCT aims for a more diverse student and graduate profile representing the population with higher proportions of black, socio-economically disadvantaged and disabled students.

“…inequalities of a class, ‘race’, gender, institutional and spatial nature profoundly shaped
South African Higher education, establishing patterns of systemic inclusion, exclusion and
the marginalisation of particular social classes and groups.”
 - SAHRC Report - Transformation in Public Universities in South Africa

UCT’s Employment Equity (EE) plan aims to support UCT in achieving its transformation agenda.

The university has also established the Office for Inclusivity and Change (OIC) to provide institutional responses to transformation, sexual and gender-based violence, disability and cultural change. You can read UCT's Transformation Reports on the OIC website.