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The University of the Free State (UFS) has an enrolment plan for 2007–2019 that was approved by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). The university is compelled to adhere to these enrolment targets, as over-enrolment poses a risk to the academic integrity, financial sustainability, and student success of the university.
The UFS received 47 000 applications for admission in 2018, of which 17 000 applicants received final admission. All admission letters clearly stipulate that admission is subject to availability of space during registration. The enrolment target for new first-time entering students for 2018 is 8 000, therefore only 8 000 students can be registered across the university’s three campuses during this intake period.
The Executive Management of the UFS welcomes the fact that President Jacob Zuma’s announcement on 16 December 2017 about free education for the poor and working class has allowed many more students the opportunity to register. Several meetings between the Executive Management and the Student Representative Council (SRC) have taken place since the beginning of 2018 to discuss the implications of the President’s announcement. Engagement with the SRC regarding the registration process is also continuously taking place.
Online registration for all students opened on 8 January 2018. The UFS has put several measures in place to assist new first-time entering undergraduate students. Furthermore, students who have moved into residences and participated in the university’s Gateway Programme, as well as students who arrived on campus, were assisted to register for programmes with available space. In cases where the first option of study was full, students were redirected to other programmes with available space within the specific faculty or other faculties, provided that they comply with the relevant admission criteria. Only mainstream programmes in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences now have space left. The rest of the undergraduate programmes in all faculties on all the campuses are full.
Students who could not be accommodated in any of the programmes due to limited space are being directed to the Central Application Clearing House (CACH).
Dr Mercy Oduyoye receives an honorary doctorate for changing how women are viewed in theology
2015-07-08
Dr Mercy Oduyoye.
Photo: Johan Roux |
Dr Mercy Amba Oduyoye received an honorary degree from the UFS Faculty of Theology in acknowledgement of the trailblazing work she has done in the field of African women’s theology. Known as the Mother of African Women’s Theology, Dr Oduyoye is the first black woman in Africa to have received a degree in theology. Ever since then, she has been changing views on gender in theology across the globe. Still at the office at the age of 82, Dr Oduyoye’s life work has centred on two areas: her work with churches, and her work with female theologians.
Women in religion and culture
Following the 2015 Winter Graduation Ceremony on the Bloemfontein Campus, during which Dr Oduyoye received her honorary degree from the University of the Free State (UFS), she presented a lecture on women in religion and culture at the Faculty of Theology. Dr Oduyoye gave a brief overview of her involvement in organisations since the early 1970s to eliminate patriarchal structures in theology, in order to produce a relationship of partnership between women and men. An area that lies especially close to Dr Oduyoye’s heart is that of storytelling, and the use of language. Therefore, a driving force behind her work has been the question: “How do we communicate what we believe as Christians?”
Writing in a way people can understand
This question led Dr Oduyoye on her journey to vernacularise theological language, and it became her mode of writing. “Very seldom will you find the classical or official theological language in my writing, because I’m writing as if I’m speaking to a youth group, a women’s group – or even my grandmother.” In this way, communication became her focal point to present Christianity in such a way that people can understand it, thus rendering it relevant to the situation in Africa.
Changes toward inclusive language
Dr Oduyoye has gone on to author four books and over eighty articles on theology from a feminist perspective. And after toiling for many years, Dr Oduyoye can now see the changes emerging – especially in the US – as Bibles, lectionaries, and hymns are increasingly adopting an inclusive language, giving women a presence and voice within the church.