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Absa supports UFS students through to graduation

13 May 2019 | Story Mamosa Makaya

The autumn graduations at the University of the Free State (UFS) in 2019 highlighted the success of public private partnerships between big business and academic institutions in tackling the lingering challenge of financial support of students in institutions of higher learning. With the advent of #feesmustfall protests in recent years, a call to action for student financial support was made, not only by university students, but by civil society as well. The response was a joining of efforts between UFS and Absa. The bank came on board as a sponsor and has provided more than R28 million in scholarships at UFS between 2016 and 2018.

Institutional advancement key facilitator

The office of Institutional Advancement (IA) at UFS was a key roleplayer in securing this funding from Absa, by facilitating the process of acquiring the funding, managing the relationship with Absa and the UFS Student Aid office. IA facilitated the process of identifying and allocating student funding, signing of bursary contracts, and stakeholder liaison.

Student success and economic growth

The Absa Scholarship Programme was conceptualised as a demonstration of the company’s commitment to tackling social change and driving economic growth. Absa partnered with various other universities in the country to ensure academically excellent and financially constrained students have a chance to complete their undergraduate degrees. Since 2016, sponsored UFS students were covered for tuition fees, accommodation, text books and meals, enabling them to focus on their studies, and to acquire their qualifications in record time, ready to enter the world of work.

The scholarship is reviewed annually with the following criteria; studying towards a degree in commerce, the humanities, engineering, science and technology, while maintaining an academic average of 55% or higher, and with a combined household income of less than R1million per annum.

Achievements of the programme

Since 2016, 723 UFS students were financially supported, with 2018 being the last year of the new intake. The current cohort is expected to complete their undergraduate studies by 2020 when the programme ends. To date more than 101 UFS students have obtained their qualifications and more will graduate later this year. Partnerships between academia, big business and other private sponsors are one of the great building blocks of our society, and continue to play a significant role its development.

News Archive

First-years at South Campus step into a bright future

2015-02-05

Photo: Stefan Lotter

This is the first step to a bright future.

This was the resounding message that welcomed first-year students to the South Campus. “Remember,” Tshegofatso Setilo, Manager of the University Preparation Programme said, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” But please do not get discouraged on your way, she urged, because “this is your first step to a bright future.

In his welcoming message, Prof Nicky Morgan, Vice-Rector: Operations at the UFS referred to the South Campus as the giant of the south. “This is one of the trailblazing campuses of the university,” he said. “No doubt what you’ll experience on this campus, you’ll never forget.”

This year, the South Campus boasts with 1 200 first-year students taking part in our University Preparation and Extended Programmes. These programmes allow students – whose matric marks did not reach the required total – the opportunity to study at the University of the Free State (UFS). The result? An astounding rise in pass rates. Some of the students on the South Campus outperform their peers studying at the Bloemfontein Campus, Prof Morgan remarked.

“You’ve got it in yourself. You’ve got the potential to unleash yourself on the world,” Prof Morgan said. You do not always realise the value of something that has come your way, he said. So, every moment you get an opportunity, he advised, use it to shape your future.

Addressing the newcomers’ fears, Prof Morgan urged each student to open themselves to the good and new experiences waiting for them. “When you find yourself in a new space, it always begins with you,” he said. Learn to understand how to live in harmony in different spaces.

Prof Morgan placed great emphasis on his closing remark: “At university, the more questions you seek to have answered – they’re worth more than the answers you have.”

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