Alternation 18,2 (2011) 1 - 14 ISSN 1023-1757 1 Editorial: Diversity, Transformation and Student Experience in Higher Education Teaching and Learning Priya Narismulu Rubby Dhunpath The themes of the Fourth Teaching and Learning Conference and consequently for this special issue of Alternation emerged out of engagements with key national and UKZN reports, notably the Report of The Ministerial Committee on Transformation and Social Cohesion and the Elimination of Discrimination in Public Higher Education Institutions (MCHET) (2008) and the UKZN Report of the Governance and Academic Freedom Committee of Council (GAFC) (2009). A further set of recommendations from the UKZN Senate Report on the Analysis of Research Productivity at UKZN for the period 2004-2008 and a Review of Indigenous Knowledge Systems/African Scholarship were the catalysts for a range of institutional responses, initiatives, innovations and projects which have inspired the focus on the theme of this issue of Alternation – ‘Diversity, Transformation and Student Experience in Higher Education Teaching and Learning’. The MCHET, arguably one of the more severe indictments of higher education in the post-apartheid period, highlights the dilemma. The report contends that most institutions’ understandings and interpretations of transformation, discrimination and social cohesion are broadly consistent with the White Paper on Higher Education. The sector has formally responded to the government’s transformation programme and there appears to be broad compliance with transformation requirements, especially with regard to employment equity. However, the extent to which these responses have been able to transcend the level of symbolism is less evident. The report emphasises the disjuncture between institutional policies and the lived