Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
10 December 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Supplied
Student Awards
The UFS rewarded student leaders for their hard work through the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) Student Leadership Awards (SALA).


The University of the Free State (UFS) Division of Student Affairs has recognised and awarded a number of student leaders in the areas of student life, arts and governance through the 2019 Student Affairs Leadership and Achievement Awards (SALA). 

Through SALA, the DSA aims to recognise and promote outstanding student leadership, thereby alleviating the threat of financial exclusion, which has been identified as a major challenge that students are currently facing. “With these awards, the department is making a small contribution towards mitigating such a challenge, especially for those students who are always at the forefront of student life, serving others while they themselves face similar challenges and contradictions,” explained Dean of Student Affairs, Pura Mgolombane.

The SALA committee convenes to select the student leaders to be awarded according to a definite rubric, which also determines the amount to be allocated. This year, the basic amount allocated was R6 000, whereas the highest amount was R25 000. The financial aspect of SALA is meant to assist students to pay for their tuition fees, with the money being paid directly into the student accounts. 

The rewards honour and incentivise students who have held leadership offices and impacted either the UFS Bloemfontein, South or Qwaqwa campuses and/or the student community of the university in a generally positive manner.

According to Mgolombane, the founder of the UFS Next Chapter organisation, Tshepang Mahlatsi, was one of the student leaders who was recognised as a leader deserving of an award amounting to R25 000 for his participation as a leader in various aspects of student life, from leading within UFS residences, to the Faculty of Law, and as an avid mental-health advocate. 

A total of 31 student leaders from the Bloemfontein Campus, 11 from the South Campus, 18 from the Qwaqwa Campus, and nine other students from all three campuses who outshone their peers, were SALA recipients in 2019. 

News Archive

UFS shines in MBA survey
2006-10-25

Here are Prof Tienie Crous (Dean: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS) and Prof Helena van Zyl (Director of the UFS School of Management) with a copy of the Financial Mail.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

UFS shines in MBA survey
According to a recent survey published in the Financial Mail, the MBA programme presented by the School of Management at the University of the Free State (UFS) was rated jointly second best in the country by its graduates in terms of quality and standard.
The UFS MBA Programme was also rated fourth best by its graduates in terms of relevance to their business.

“I am overwhelmed and very proud that the School of Management, although we are a young school and have only been in existence for 7 (seven) years, has been rated so high by our graduandi. The School contributes in a very special way to much-needed business training in central South Africa,” said Prof Helena van Zyl, Director of the UFS School of Management.

“According to the survey, we have the lowest acceptance rate of applicants for the MBA programme, with only 33 students being accepted out of every 100 who apply.  In general, we do not compromise on quality – as stated by our slogan: Be worth more.  Given the quality of the programme, our MBA is very affordable – it offers real value for money,” said Prof van Zyl.

According to Prof van Zyl, the School of Management has had an increase the past 6 (six) months in enquiries from prospective students from Gauteng who are interested in studying the MBA programme.  “They are even prepared to travel to Bloemfontein to attend classes,” she said. 

This year Financial Mail moved away from an overall MBA ranking to a detailed consideration of subject area strengths for each business school in South Africa.  The subject Strategy offered at the UFS School of Management was rated second in the country while the subject Economics also received the same rating.

“The School of Management is the flagship of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.  It gives the UFS and this faculty a standing in corporate South Africa.  This is largely due to Prof Helena van Zyl’s strategy to position the school and making it visible on a national level,” said Prof Tienie Crous, Dean: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS.

According to Prof Crous, the UFS School of Management provides students with opportunities to obtain first-hand experience of how big and successful companies are managed.  “For instance, our MBA students undertake an overseas study tour every year.  This year they visited amongst others the headquarters of Airbus in Toulouse, France and next year they will be visiting the headquarters of Toyota and Yamaha in Japan,” said Prof Crous.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
24 October 2006

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept