IIS Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

By UFS Stakeholders: Top Management, Faculty Managers, Deans, Senior Officers, Administrators.

The UFS registered 8 074 first time undergraduates in 2024

39 800 Total
32 900 Undergraduates
6 600 Postgraduates

We registered a total of 826 this year.

Graduation rate is 23%

We are graduating a total of 9 143

The achievement gap for Blacks: 82% and White: 89%

We received 551 685 applications in total

We received 298 430 applicants in total

Gauteng with a total of 19 905 applications

A total of 189 Doctoral Degrees.

The total module enrolments are 298 587.

We have a total of 1 698 instruction research staff.

We have a total of 656.

We have a total of 23 613 Students funded by NSFAS

 


DIRAP Indicator Monitor 2024

Indicator Name 2025 DHET Targets 2024 Operational 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
Headcount 42 526 40 199 39 342 40 671 40 954 41 602 41 505
Undergraduates 35 323 33 061 33 048 34 598 34 372 34 812 34 022
Post grad Less Masters 3 262 3 166 2 811 2 660 2 839 3 049 3 450
Master 2 704 2 537 2 320 2 187 2 383 2 250 2 278
Doctoral 1 237 1 091 1 070 1 021 1 043 999 1 029
First Time Undergraduates 8 100 8 075 8 360 8 974 8 006 7 816 7 723
Full Time Equivalents(FTE) 35 296 31 175.5 31 599.00 31 830.55 33 247.16 33 825.85 32 557.24
Teaching Input Unit(TIU) 77 488 67 107.9 67 656 65 493 67 937 68 347 67 350
CESCM Science Eng Technology 24% 24.70% 23% 22% 23% 23% 23%
CESM Business 19% 19.30% 17% 16% 16% 16% 17%
CESM Education 25% 23.10% 24% 26% 27% 27% 28%
CESM Humanities 32% 32.90% 36% 36% 35% 34% 32%
Contact Headcount 39 988 38 913 37 906 39 206 37 893 38 045 37 075
Distant Headcount 2 538 1 286 1 436 1 465 3 061 3 557 4 430
Total Graduates 11 007 9 141 10 015 10 531 9 667 8 606
Graduation Rate 26% 0% 23% 25% 26% 23% 21%
Undergraduate Graduates 8 282 6 547 7 663 7 985 7 253 5 949
PG less Masters Graduates 1 800 1 788 1 635 1 702 1 851 1 992
Masters Graduates 765 617 554 682 450 537
Doctoral Graduates 160 189 163 162 113 128
Graduate Scarce Skills 2 999 2 295 2 711 3 819 3 007 3 112
Engineering 20 6 15 31 15 13
Life and Physical Sciences 430 873 850 772 830 769
Animal Sciences 103 103 67 64 60 74
Human Health 409 509 407 415 501 475
Initial Teacher Education 2 140 805 1 371 2 538 1 601 1 781
Success Rate 84% 83.40% 84.26% 82.70% 87.15 80.51%
Publication units Permanent Instr Research 1 245
Publication units Ratio Permanent Instr Research 104%
Headcount Intake First Year in Foundation 3 765 1 588 2 011 2 052 2 156 3 024 3 157
First time Undergraduates in Foundation 1 372 1 739 1 731 1 847 2 595 2 612
Headcount Non SA students 2 375 889 907 950 1 092 1 270 1 522
Undergraduate % 83.06% 82% 84% 85% 84% 84% 82%
Postgraduate % 16.94% 17% 16% 14% 15% 15% 16%
Staff total Permanent Instr Research 1 240 933 1 039 966 999 988 883
Permanent Instr Research with PHD 625 571 592 556 538 514 458
Permanent Staff with PHD% 50.40% 61.20% 56.98% 57.56% 53.85% 52.02% 51.87%
Permanent Inst Research staff Masters 465 308 384 348 371 379 330
Permanent Inst Research % Masters 37.50% 33.01% 36.96% 36.02% 37.14% 38.36% 37.37%

Enrolment and output targets for the University of Free State

Headcount totals will be allowed to increase from 41 505 in 2019 to 42 526 in 2025 which represents an average annual increase of 0.4% between 2019 and 2025.
The approved number of first-time entering undergraduates for your institution in 2025 is 8 100. This represents a 0.8% average annual increase from the 7 719 first-time entering undergraduate cohort in 2019.
The unweighted full-time equivalent (FTE) totals are expected to increase from 33 952 in 2019 to 35 296 in 2025.
The funded teaching input unit (weighted FTE) total for 2025 is 77 488. The funded teaching input unit share will change from 4.5% in 2020 to 4.6% in 2025.
In 2025, the proportion of headcount enrolments by major field of study should be as follows: 24% in science, engineering and technology; 19% in business and management; 25% in education and 32% in other humanities.
It is indicated that the 4 430 distance headcount enrolments in 2019 will decrease to 2 538 in 2025. Your efforts on access to education through the distance method are appreciated, however, the university needs to re-think the decline in distance mode for the next enrolment cycle. The university should offer sufficient support to these students to ensure access to education is coupled with success.
The total graduate output should inresearch output ratio crease from 8 606 in 2019 to 11 007 in 2025. Graduate targets for 2025 at postgraduate level are 1 800 postgraduate to masters, 765 masters and 160 doctoral graduates.
The graduate contribution in scarce skill areas for 2025 should be 20 in engineering, 430 in life and physical sciences; 409 in animal and human health, and 2 140 in initial teacher education.
The targeted success rate for 2025 is 84% which is more than the actual reported rate of 77% in 2019.
The production of publication units is projected to increase by an average annual rate of 0.9% from 1 181 units in 2019 to 1 245 in 2025 which will result in the decrease of the ratio of research outputs to permanent academic staff from 125% in 2019 to 104% in 2025.
The projected headcount intake into first year foundation qualifications is 3 765 students in 2025 which is a decrease from the actual 3 970 students in 2017. The university will have to use the next enrolment cycle to address these targets to ensure increased access into foundation programmes to allow for struggling students to succeed.

Shortfall

Indicator Name 2025 Targets 2024 Operational Diference from 2024 to 2025 Target 2023 Reported
Headcount 42 526 40 199 2 327 39 342
Undergraduates 35 323 33 061 2 262 33 048
Post grad Less Master 3 262 3 166 96 2 811
Master 2 704 2 537 167 2 320
Doctoral 1 237 1 091 146 1 070
First Time Undergraduates 8 100 8 075 25 8 360
Full Time Equivalents(FTE) 35 296 31 175.5 4 120.648 31 599.00
Teaching Input Unit(TIU) 77 488 67 107.9 10 380.082 67 656
CESCM Science Eng Technology 24% 24.70% -0.007 23%
CESM Business 19% 19.30% -0.003 17%
CESM Education 25% 23.10% 0.019% 24%
CESM Humanities 32% 32.90% -0.009 36%
Contact Headcount 39 988 38 913 1 075 37 906
Distant Headcount 2 538 1 286 1 252 1 436
Total Graduates 11 007 11 007 9 141
Undergraduate Graduates 8 282 8 282 6 547
PG less Masters Graduates 1 800 1 800 1 788
Masters Graduates 765 765 617
Doctoral Graduates 160 160 189
Graduate Scarce Skills 2 999 2 999 2 295
Engineering 20 20 6
Life and Physical Sciences 430 430 873
Animal Sciences 103 103 103
Human Health 409 409 509
Initial Teacher Education 2 140 2 140 805
Success Rate 84% 83.40%
Publication units Permanent Instr Research 1 245 1 245
Publication units Ratio Permanent Instr Research 104% 1.04
Headcount Intake First Year in Foundation 3 765 1 588 2 177 2 011
First time Undergraduates in Foundation 1 372 -1 372 1 739
Headcount Non SA students 2 375 889 1 486 907
Undergraduate % 83.06% 82% 1% 84%
Postgraduate % 16.94% 17% 16%
Staff total Permanent Instr Research 1 240 933 307 1 039
Permanent Instr Research with PHD 625 571 54 592
Permanent Staff with PHD% 50.40% 61.20% 8% 56.98%
Permanent Inst Research staff Masters 465 308 157 384
Permanent Inst Research % Masters 37.50% 33.01% -4% 36.96%

 

Knowledge Base
Indicator Description
FTE Full time equivalent (FTE) is a fraction value assigned to a module
Graduation Rate The number of students who have graduated in a particular year, irrespective of the year of study, divided by the total number of students enrolled in that particular year. (CHE)
(Number of Graduates / Headcount) * 100 in the same year of enrolment
Dropout Rate Percentage of undergraduates and postgraduates students enrolled in year N, who do not graduate in year N and do not return in year N+1
Throughput Rate A calculation based on the number of [first-time-entry undergraduate] students of a specific cohort for a specific year who have graduated [either within the minimum time, or up to two years beyond the minimum time,] against the number of students in the baseline enrolment of that cohort. (CHE)
(Total Number of Graduates overall years / Initial Cohort size) * 100
Successful FTE FTE is fraction value assigned to a module according to the weight this module contributes to the total credits needed to obtain a degree.
Enrolled FTE FTE is fraction value assigned to a module according to the weight this module contributes to the total credits load of a qualification.
Instructional Research FTE A value indicating the FTE time spent by a staff member on a particular programme and staff programme CESM category, reported as a whole number or a fraction for staff who are appointed in Instruction research positions.
Achievement Gap of what Number of enrolled students who passed the modules they enrolled into divided by total number of student enrolled in the modules by gender or race
Research Output Unit Output Units generated by Graduates in Masters and doctoral qualifications depending on the research time in the specific qualification
Teaching Input Unit Units calculated from the FTE values of modules multiplied by the students enrolled in the modules weighted through the official DHET funding grid according to the subject

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