MANCOSA is a private higher distance education institution, established in 1995 as a post-apartheid empowerment institution offering affordable and accessible management education primarily to persons previously denied access to postgraduate education in South Africa.
In 2002, MANCOSA received accreditation for its programmes from the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC), the quality committee of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) in South Africa. MANCOSA is a leading provider of management programmes through supported distance learning in Southern Africa. It has in excess of 10,000 students currently enrolled on its programmes.
MANCOSA has extensive experience in working with a wide range of students over the past 23 years in delivering high quality management and education programmes offered locally and internationally. Its flagship programme, the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree has been offered since 1995.
Between 1995 and 2000 MANCOSA provided management programmes in association with the Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College (BCUC), a College of the University of Brunel in the United Kingdom. During this 5-year period, MANCOSA successfully delivered tuition support to over 860 students enrolled on the Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College management programmes. At that time, MANCOSA was successfully quality assured by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education of the United Kingdom (QAA).
MANCOSA’s partnership with BCUC in offering management programmes and the MBA provided an international perspective to students in the Southern African region, whilst maintaining a strong local and regional focus. From the year 2000, MANCOSA discontinued offering BCUC qualifications and started to award its own qualifications which were registered and accredited in South Africa.
In delivering its range of management education programmes to a diverse body of students from both the public and private sectors, MANCOSA has considerably developed its infrastructural, academic and intellectual capacities. Drawn from commerce, industry and academia, the programmes have access to a large group of high quality academics, supervisors and mentors in management and leadership.
During October 2014, MANCOSA formally opened its Graduate School of Business [GSB] in Durban. The vision behind establishing the MANCOSA [GSB] was the creation of a niche campus focusing exclusively on postgraduate education in business management with emphasis on the promotion of international collaborative higher education; international study tours; executive education and research. In addition to international benchmarking activities, the graduate school of business campus was envisaged to promote programmes relevant to postgraduate business education, hence the creation of the MANCOSA [GSB].
The intention is to allow for a differentiated student learning experience between postgraduate and undergraduate education and the MANCOSA [GSB] will enable this to happen. Many postgraduate students hold senior positions in industry and a differentiated learning experience through the MANCOSA [GSB] is appropriate.
The following additional factors provide an overview of MANCOSA’s operations:
- During 2017 MANCOSA had over 10 000 enrolled students from 10 South African Development Community (SADC) countries and a number of students from other countries across the globe, studying its programmes;
- There is an existing network of support centres, centrally located, in most provinces of South Africa that are currently being used for sessions with students. Some of these centres are managed through formal partnership agreements with other public and private higher education institutions;
- MANCOSA has qualified full-time and part-time lecturers, supervisors and resource persons to provide educational support;
- These resource persons also provide students with academic support and pastoral care throughout their academic career;
- The MANCOSA head office, based in central Durban, has a large complement of full-time academic, administrative and student support staff. It also has a well-resourced and modern infrastructure, training facilities, library and ICT infrastructure and equipment to complement its high quality programmes and executive education programmes.
As a leading provider of management programmes through supported distance education, MANCOSA has considerable expertise in the design and development of high quality and relevant study materials. It has developed appropriate teaching and learning strategies, particularly suited for transferring knowledge and skills to mature students, many of whom are in full-time employment. Through its active research focus, MANCOSA remains at the cutting-edge of the latest management and leadership training trends.
The management and staff of MANCOSA are supportive of and actively involved in both public and private initiatives to improve the South African and continental higher education sector.
In addition to flagship programme the MBA, the institution offers a range of programmes from Doctor in Business Administration, Post-Graduate Diplomas, Bachelor Degrees, Diplomas and Higher Certificates.
Postgraduate Programmes:
- Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management
- Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management
- Postgraduate Diploma in Family Business Management
- Postgraduate Diploma in Risk Management
- Postgraduate Diploma in Information and Technology Management
- Master of Business Administration
- Master of Commerce
- Master of Public Administration
- Doctor of Business Administration
- Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Management
- Postgraduate Certificate in Education in Further Education and Training Teaching
Undergraduate Programmes:
- Higher Certificate in Business Management
- Higher Certificate in Local Government and Development Management
- Higher Certificate in Information Technology
- Higher Certificate in Supply Chain Management
- Higher Certificate in Accounting
- Higher Certificate in Public Management
- Higher Certificate in Project Management
- Higher Certificate in Marketing
- Higher Certificate in Human Resource Management
- Higher Certificate in Public Sector Procurement
- Higher Certificate in Tax Administration
- Higher Certficate in Events Management
- Higher Certificate in Social Media and Communication
- Advanced Certificate in Management Studies
- Advanced Certificate in Financial Planning
- Advanced Diploma in Business Management
- Bachelor of Business Administration
- Bachelor of Public Administration
- Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting
- Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurship
- Bachelor of Commerce in Retail Management
- Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resource Management
- Bachelor of Commerce in Information and Technology Management
- Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing Management
- Bachelor of Commerce in Supply Chain Management
- Bachelor of Commerce in Financial Management
- Bachelor of Commerce in International Business
- Bachelor of Commerce in Project Management
- Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Human Resource Management
- Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Marketing Management
- Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Supply Chain Management
- Bachelor of Business Administration Honours
- Bachelor of Public Administration Honours
- Bachelor of Education in Senior Phase and Further Education and Training Teaching
Ranked in the Top 10 MBAs in South Africa* and Africa**
According to the Financial Mail survey 2018, the MANCOSA Graduate School of Business was the most productive amongst 6 private business schools, with 50 research publications – even surpassing the output of 5 other public business schools.
*Financial Mail Survey 2019
**Eduniversal 2018
Accredited and Registered
MANCOSA is a registered and accredited higher education provider with experience in the development and delivery of management and other programmes. Currenlty the institution has 36 accredited programmes ranging across business, management and economic studies with a new branch into education studies.
Affordable and Accessible
MANCOSA programmes are affordably priced and highly accessible in and around Southern Africa, Mauritius and Russia through the delivery of supported distance education.
Cutting-Edge Curriculum
MANCOSA maintains that success at the workplace depends on a combination of theoretical understanding and practical application. The programme content and associated assessment interventions of the programmes develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. This approach ensures that students realise their true potential and attain graduate attributes that contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic needs of their country.
Internationally Benchmarked
MANCOSA programmes are benchmarked with leading international business schools. The result is a recognised educational qualification that ranks among the best available today.
Flexible Structure
The flexibility of MANCOSA programmes caters to the personal needs of individuals. Students are able to complete their programme while at the same time develop their individual careers.
Infrastructure and Support
MANCOSA’s discipline experts, academics and tutors combined with contemporary educational resources and technology enables students to gain access to high quality academic support throughout their studies. It caters for a diverse student population.
Value to Organisations
Employers benefit from MANCOSA programmes because its graduates have developed values and attributes which are personally and professionally valuable and are well-equipped with knowledge and skills to add value to their organisations.
Academic Faculty
MANCOSA has a strong full time and adjunct academic work force with global teaching experience, industry leadership, significant research profiles and a track record of global education delivery across cultures and regions.
MANCOSA has in excess of 6100 square metres in teaching and learning space over 12 Learning centres across Southern Africa. The campuses have state of the art libraries with approximately 20,000 titles and laboratories equipped with computers and laptops.
