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06 May 2019 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Robin Thuynsma
Mr Nikile Ntsababa
Mr Nikile Ntsababa.

Mr Nikile Ntsababa took up the position of Registrar at the University of the Free State (UFS) on 1 May 2019. His appointment was approved by the UFS Council during its quarterly meeting on 15 March 2019.
 
“Mr Ntsababa is an experienced and knowledgeable university registrar with 10 years of senior management experience in institutional compliance, regulatory compliance, academic administration, and university records management. His history of senior roles in the higher-education sector has the advantage of a very good understanding regarding the dynamics, context, and challenges that the position of registrar brings,” says Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.
 
He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Records and Archives Management from the University of Fort Hare, a Master of Public Administration from Nelson Mandela University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Fort Hare. Some of the further certification and short courses he has completed includes a Certificate in International Higher Education Management from Vanderbilt University, Tennessee State in the USA, and a Compliance Management Certificate from the University of Cape Town. He is a Certified Ethics Officer.
 
Mr Ntsababa was Registrar at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) from April 2012 to April 2019; before that he was Deputy Registrar at CPUT from April 2009 to March 2012. He also served as Director of Governance at the University of Fort Hare from September 2007 to March 2009, and as Faculty Manager: Management and Commerce at the University of Fort Hare from January 2004 to August 2007.   
 
“I look forward to working at the UFS and to share my knowledge and experience of higher-education legislation and the associated regulatory processes, requirements, and trends in the higher-education sector,” says Mr Ntsababa.

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News Archive

#Women'sMonth: PSP provides scholarly support system for Prof Wilson-Strydom
2017-08-17

Description: Merridy Wilson-Strydom Tags: National Research Foundation, Prof Merridy Wilson-Strydom, Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development, Prestige Scholars Programme, writing retreats, higher education literature 

Prof Merridy Wilson-Strydom loves asking questions and
therefore has a strong focus on research.
She also enjoys supervising PhD students.
Photo: Sonia Small


Publishing her first book and receiving a rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) are career highlights for Prof Merridy Wilson-Strydom. As an emerging scholar, the Prestige Scholars Programme (PSP) of the University of the Free State (UFS) played an important role in reaching these goals. 

According to the Associate Professor in the Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development, the PSP provided an important scholarly support system, both through the coordinators and the other researchers who are part of the programme.

Writing retreats made book possible
“I found the support and advice provided during the process of applying for funding and rating really helpful,” she says about receiving a NRF C2 rating, based on her work over the past eight years.
She compliments the PSP writing retreats, which “provided a wonderful space for writing and it was during the writing retreats that I did a lot of the writing for my book that was published by Routledge in 2015.” Her book, University Access and Success: Capabilities, Diversity and Social Justice, moving back into academia from institutional research, working closely with undergraduate students as research participants, and postgraduate supervision, are all highlights of her work.

Her book makes a valuable contribution to higher education literature related to access and transition to universities. But, contrary to the mainstream approaches to access which rely on school performance and admissions tests, she poses the issue of social justice at the centre of the analysis.

Student project produces E-book
Another project headed by her and funded by the NRF Thuthuka Programme, was a study to understand the lives of 40 undergraduate students (on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus) who attended township high schools. The study had a particular focus on identifying institutional practices that either enable or constrain students’ capabilities for success in undergraduate study.

One of the outputs was the writing of an E-book called In our own words: Perspectives on being a student. It was written by 30 undergraduate students and the purpose was to provide a platform for students to tell their own stories about life as a student. 

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