INTRODUCTION

The term polytechnic comes from the Greek πολύ polú meaning "many" and τεχνικός tekhnikós meaning "arts". In modern times Polytechnics are synonymous with Institutes of Technology. As such Johannesburg is an Institute of Technology with a combination of Science, Humanities and arts. It endeavors to produce professionals in their areas of specialization who are going to drive South Africa and Africa to greater heights of prosperity.   We are proud that we are building a foundation of a new beginning, where everyone feels the brotherhood and sisterhood that emanates from a sense of belonging to one another. Its only possible at Johannesburg Polytechnic, since we are so diverse that we truly feel African!.  This is our dream and our yearning. We are going to accomplish it if only we believe and not fear. After all the only thing to fear is fear itself.

Motto

Our rallying call is "Imagine the Possibilities!" This is a call for each and everyone to imagine and visualize greater heights of achievements. Where there is a will there is a way,  and the saying goes where there is no vision people perish, we believe that for one to achieve he/she must start to  imagine of possibilities. Just start to Imagine what you could be in five, then, ten years...

Polytechnic Management 

The Senate

The top governing body of the college is the Senate. The senate handles all the management aspects of the college both in terms curriculum management, examinations and general learning. The senate is chaired by the Executive Member or the Principal. It comprises of the following:

• The Executive Member

• The Principal

• Faculty Heads

• Departmental Heads

The Senate makes recommendations to the Johannesburg Polytechnic Management which deals with all other aspects of college management which are of non-academic nature.

Registration Procedures

The Registration process starts once a prospective learner accepts a prospectus and accepts the terms and conditions of the college as well as specific faculty rules and regulations. The student is deemed to be fully registered once he or she fills in a signed registration form and Deposits the registration fees as well as tuition fees.  Registration can be cancelled if:

• The candidate does not provide all the requirements needed to register for a specific course including registration fees as well as tuition fees.

• The candidate fails to meet the requirements of a certain course and does not show enough evidence that he/she can complete the course successfully.

• The candidate Conceals material information or provides UNTRUE prior qualifications in order to enable him or her to register for the course.

• Continuously fails examinations for 3 consecutive seating. A full re-registration must be done.

• Cheats in an examination or plagiarizes to pass an examination administered by the institution.

• Caught abetting cheating or plagiarizing in an examination room 

• Fails to attend lectures without a Doctor’s Certificate or Course Deferment Notice (CDN from the Deans Office) for more than a third of the course duration.

• Insubordinates members of staff, fellow learners or starts fights in the center

• Abets or performs criminal activities including theft, carrying prohibited weapons (including licensed) and fraud within the center premises.

• A learner de-registers voluntarily in which case all fees and registration fees will be forfeited.

•  Fails to pay tuition fees for more than a third of the course duration, and does not qualify for fees exemption

Once a registration is cancelled, the learner must re-register again and all Registration and Course Fees are FORFEITED to the College. 

Examination Rules and Regulations

• All assignments must be typed and returned to the lecturer who issued them or to the administrator designated to return such assignments. They must be handed in on or before the return date.

• Assignments not returned in time will be entered as not done and hence can only be re-issued if a doctor’s certificate is appended or a CDN. In case there is no doctors certificate such an assignment will only be handed in upon payment of a penalty fee that will be determined from time to time but must be half of the examination fees for the module.

• No certificate or diploma will be issued where the candidate did not hand in all due assignments. The course will be deemed to not have been completed successfully.

• Plagiarisation or copying (examination cheating) is a serious offence. Such examination or assignment –if not a group assignment will be canceled and the perpetrators will have to pay a penalty equivalent to half the module fee on top of the examination fee (i.e. Examination Fee plus Penalty).

•  All practical assignments are part of continuous assessments and must therefore be accorded the same importance as they form a part of the overall marks. Practical assignments must be finished on time. Group practical assignments must have reports from every member of the group and learning outcomes strictly stipulated must be met and seen to have been met.

• In case of individual assignments, a report must be handed in after the assignment stipulating the outcome of the assignment and problems if any that the leaner encountered and how he/she was able to resolve them.

• Supplementary examinations can be done three times. If the Learner fails during the three times, the course must be registered for in full again. Supplementary examinations are Graded C regardless of the Marks obtained.

Examination/Assignments Return Dates:

As from 1^st of March 2005, all internal examinations booked before the 15^th of the month must be done on the following Friday or Saturday after 15^th. All examinations booked after 15^th will be done on the first (1^st) Friday or Saturday of the following month provided that in both cases such Friday or Saturday is not a public holiday. In case the following Saturday or Friday is a public holiday, the learner can undertake the examination on the next available examination date. All learners intending to undertake an examination must book 7 workdays in advance. They must show proof of fees payments including monthly installments and examination fees. Only when such fees are paid will the administrator provide an examination entry letter that will authorize a learner to seat for an examination. No one will be allowed to enter in the examination room without an examination entry form and a student card. Please note that you will also be required to book for your examinations online as from 1^st of June 2005. Examination Entry Letters will only print if the candidate has paid all applicable fees. External examination dates will be available on the Student Notice Board.

Student Notice Board

Please check on the Student Notice Board for the Next examination date on the website: http://www.johannesburgpolytechnic.com/exams/.

General Rules and Regulations

• No dangerous weapons allowed in the Johannesburg Polytechnic Campus e.g. Guns, knives, machetes, pen knives. No fighting or disrespect

• No drugs allowed in the College. No stealing or vandalizing of either the Polytechnic property or other students property. Pornography is strictly prohibited in the Polytechnic Premises. Illegal Gaming, Internet Fraud, fraud and pedophiles will lead to deregistration and a report to the SAPS.

• Smoking and Drugs: Johannesburg Polytechnic is a smoke free educational zone. No smoking within and around the campus is allowed. Drugs are strictly prohibited.

• Alcohol and alcoholic drinks are strictly prohibited in the premises. No eating or drinking in the lecture rooms

• Punctuality. Avoid spending more time in the computer and other facilities to the detriment of others after your time is over. Always carry your student card to be allowed to use the college facilities. Cell phone communication while in the class is strictly prohibited. Cell phones must be put off completely while class is in progress.

• Language: uncouth language towards other students and lecturers and making excessive and unnecessary noise is not allowed, racial and derogatory terms including xenophobic terms, meant to humiliate sections of a community in any discriminative way are strictly prohibited. Johannesburg Polytechnic believes in non-racial, non-sexist, non-discriminative society where no one is discriminated on whatever grounds.

• Class Attendance: You must attend all lectures registered for before graduating. In case of absence without leave of absence, a doctor’s certificate must be provided. Otherwise full registration fees due as well as registrations will be demanded for non-completed courses.

• Fees are payable up-front on or before the 2nd of every month. Fees once paid are not refundable. Fees to external examination bodies are not received at the college and hence are not included in the tuition fees. Tuition fees do not include books and stationery.

• Student manuals are for sale. Manuals should not be duplicated. Full amount will be demanded for duplicated manuals when caught.

• A student will remain designated as non-active after failing to attend for lectures for more than 1 month or a third of the course duration. Thereafter deregistration and forfeiture of any fees paid will follow without any further correspondence.

• Bursaries/Scholarships: Various bursaries and scholarships awarded to students will only be provided where there is adequate information that the student has been attending classes, and that he/she deserves the bursary or scholarship both on merit and on need. It is a serious offence to provide inaccurate information with an intent to gain unfairly on scholarships or bursaries.

• Polytechnic Equipment: defacing, stealing, destroying or malicious damage of college equipment is a very serious crime which may lead to deregistration or prosecution. Students must respect college property at all times.

• Indemnity: I hereby indemnify Johannesburg Polytechnic, Strathrand Technology cc, its workers, employees, management and agents from any legal costs which may arise due to any risk, damage of property, accidents, loss of property or loss of life including death whilst I am in the their premises.

• These rules are but general. A full set of rules and regulations can be found on the registration form. General rules and regulations are subject to change from time to time and can be accessed through the student notice board on the college website.

Disciplinary and Arbitration Committee
If for any reason there has been a breach of the above regulations and a situation which may call for:

• Deregistration of a student

• Hearing with an intent to Prosecute a student

• Or a Student Charges another student/staff member of misconduct which might lead to any of the above

• Grave misconduct of a staff member or a student which may lead to unrest or breach of peace within the college premises

• A student feels that he/she has been treated unfairly or been discriminated

Then a disciplinary or arbitration committee must call for a hearing. Before the hearing, all parties must be served with a summons from the Arbitration and Disciplinary Office showing clearly the following:

• The Complainant

• The Person Charged

• The Charge (Complaint)

• Consequences of the Complaint e.g. Expulsion

• The right of the defendant to have a legal representative

This summons must clearly show the cause and effect of the charge including any written regulation, rule or law which the defendant is accused of.  Under all circumstances the defendant should be treated innocent until found to be guilty. However in certain circumstances where the Disciplinary Committee may foresee likely events which may breach the peace within the academic community, the committee may recommend that either defendant or the plaintive or both may be suspended from coming to college until the case is heard and determined.

 The College Disciplinary Committee will be composed of:

• The Dean of Students or the Principal or a Senior Disciplinarian designated as such by the Senate

• In case the case has one of the parties being a student, two Representatives from the Student Representative Council (SRC) must be in attendance, otherwise if it involves staff members only, then two Johannesburg Polytechnic Academic or Support Staff representatives must be present.

• Four Independent Arbitrators-Chosen by the plaintiff and the defendant. Arbitrators must be chosen from within the Staff of Johannesburg Polytechnic or Johannesburg Polytech Institute. Under certain circumstances the Disciplinary Committee may allow an arbitrator from outside the college community at its own discretion where the parties involved may feel that justice will not prevail due to bias amongst the academic community. Such discretion must be approved by the senate once the first sitting of the Disciplinary/Arbitration Committee realizes the necessity. Under these circumstances the Senate will seek an arbitrator from a reputable institution preferably the Human Rights Commission or the Legal Aid Board.

• A Legal Guardian in case the defendant or plaintiff  is Under 21 years, is not married, is not the person responsible for fees payments or is still under legal guardianship

• A legal representative if the defendant or plaintiff so states that he/she will be legally represented

• A Secretary to record all the proceedings.

The chairperson of the Disciplinary/ Arbitration Committee will open the Disciplinary or Arbitration Committee Proceedings by making sure that the above people are present. Only when all are present will the proceeding start. In case the defendant is not present, the Disciplinary/Arbitration Committee shall make sure that the defendant is SERVED with the final summons after which a decision will be taken with or without their presence. The Chairperson will start by reading a charge sheet to the Defendant as put across by the plaintiff. He/She will require the Plaintiff to lay down any evidence including any eye witnesses that he/she may have against the defendant. He /she will then ask the defendant whether he is guilty of the charges and should he/she feel that he is not guilty he/she will be given time to counteract the charges by adducing evidence as well as witnesses. The defendant must have been given adequate time to read the sheet preferably seven working days before the proceedings.

The Arbitration /Disciplinary Committee Decision based on the findings will be final and binding. Such a decision must be reached within 7 days excluding Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays. However the decision of the committee will in no way deny the defendant or the plaintiff from seeking justice in any court within the Republic of South Africa to whom jurisdiction all matters legal interpretation exists.

All proceedings must be typed and incase the decision will involve deregistration from the college, prosecution or dismissal, then a tape recording of the proceedings must be kept while the secretary must give a true copy of the proceedings (verbatim) to both parties within 7 working days.