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Everything you need to know about NSFAS Funding

01 January 2021

1. What is my NSFAS status?

Please log in on your MyNSFAS account to check your status (www.nsfas.org.za).

2. I forgot my password for my MyNSFAS account. What should I do?

Click on the ‘Forgot your password?’ link:

Nsfas 1

Nsfas edit

3. I forgot my username for my MyNSFAS account. What should I do?

Click on the ‘Forgot your password?’ link:

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4. Do I have to pay for registration if my NSFAS funds were approved?

No, you do not have to pay for registration if your NSFAS funds are approved. Please note that Financial Aid will allocate your NSFAS funding on the UFS system, which will lift the registration pre-payment block for you to register without making any payment. Once the allocation is done, you will receive an SMS message to notify you.

5. I am funded by NSFAS – what should I do next?

The Financial Aid office at the UFS requests complete funded lists from NSFAS on a regular basis. Validation checks are done and an NSFAS allocation is made to qualifying students on the UFS system. Once the allocation is made, Financial Aid will inform the student via an SMS message. Please note that approximately five hours after allocation of the NSFAS funds, the registration prepayment block will lift automatically. You are now ready to register.

6. I am a NSFAS-funded student but did not receive an SMS from Financial Aid to confirm that my allocation was done. What should I do if I still need to register?

Please be patient.
Make sure that your cellphone number is correct on the university’s system.If you need to correct your number, please visit Student Academic Services.
However, if your funding has been approved by NSFAS for a week and you have not received the SMS, please visit the Financial Aid station/help desk.

7. I did not receive the NSFAS allocation SMS from the UFS, and the period for registration given to me when accepting the offer for admission has passed. Can I still register?

Please continue with online registration once you have received the SMS confirming your allocation.

8. I am a NSFAS student and I have outstanding fees. Will I be allowed to register?

The university is aware of your situation and will take the amount payable by NSFAS into consideration when you want to register. Please note that you will have to contact the Student Finance division.

9. I paid my own registration fees and received NSFAS thereafter. Can I get a refund?

Yes. However, you will have to apply for a refund. Financial Aid will communicate to all NSFAS students when refund requests may be submitted for registration fees paid. Any fees not paid by NSFAS (for example, fines, doctor’s fees, etc.) will be deducted from the amount paid and only the balance will be refunded. All refund requests for NSFAS students must be submitted to Financial Aid. Please note that a closing date for the submission of refund requests will be applicable.

10. When will I receive my first NSFAS allowances?

NSFAS allowances will be paid during the first week of each month over a period of 10 months. Please note that due to several variables a specific date for payment cannot be provided.

11. What NSFAS allowances do I qualify for?

Information will be provided for 2021 once the DHET Guidelines is available.

12. How will NSFAS allowances be paid?

NSFAS allowances will be paid in cash to the student via the Fundi system. Once the allowances are debited to your student class fee account, you will receive an SMS message from Fundi to upload your banking details. Fundi will confirm your banking details and payment will follow.

Please note that no payments will be made to a third party.

You only have to upload your banking details once. If you experience any problems with regards to the upload of your banking details please contact Fundi at +27 8 60 55 55 44.

13. I did not obtain my higher certificate last year and have to repeat some modules. Will I qualify for NSFAS?

Information will be provided for 2021 once the DHET Guidelines is available

14. Does NSFAS pay private accommodation deposits?

No, NSFAS does not pay private accommodation deposits or residence deposits.

15. How do I apply for private accommodation?

Please visit the UFS website for a complete guide:

Students

Financial Aid

16. How will the accredited private accommodation work?

If your landlord is not accredited, please refer him/her to the Department of Housing and Residence Affairs. No payments will be made in 2021 and onwards to landlords who were not accredited by the end of 2020.

17. When will I receive my NSFAS allowances?

NSFAS allowances will be paid during the first week of each month over a period of 10 months. Please note that due to several variables a specific date for payment cannot be provided.

18. Will NSFAS pay all my fees?

NSFAS does not pay for the following:

Outstanding balances

Fines
Doctor’s fees
Breakage costs
Fridge rental, etc.

Please note that students who were registered for the first time at a tertiary institution before 2018, are subject to a maximum NSFAS amount for the year. The maximum NSFAS amount for 2021 will be confirmed.

19. I am funded by NSFAS but will study a course that is not funded by NSFAS. What should I do?

Your NSFAS funding is subject to you registering for a NSFAS-funded course. If you want to register for a course that is not funded by NSFAS, you will be unfunded.

If you want to register for a course that is not funded by NSFAS, you will have to find another source of funding and pay your own registration fees.

Courses not funded by NSFAS is, for example, University Access Programmes / University Preparation Programmes, Postgraduate Diploma in General Accountancy, honours, etc.

Please note that NSFAS-funded students who are registered or would like to register for courses not funded by NSFAS, will be handled as follows:

Students must make the minimum required registration payment to register.
NSFAS funding for students will be cancelled or not allocated if they are registered or open for courses not funded by NSFAS.
If students have registered with NSFAS funding, they will be deregistered and requested to make the minimum payment before being registered again.

20. I have a registration block for the outstanding NSFAS agreement. What should I do?

Please visit Financial Aid for assistance. According to NSFAS, you have received your agreement link to sign, but you have not signed yet.

21.When will I receive my private accommodation payment?

You must apply online for your private accommodation. It is compulsory to upload your rental agreement and proof of home address. If your private accommodation application is approved by the 25th of a month you will receive payment from your move in date up to date during the first week of the following month and thereafter you will receive your monthly payments until November.

22. How will I know if my private accommodation application status has changed?

You will immediately receive an email on your ufs4life email address when your status change.

23.What should I do if my private accommodation application is incomplete?

Please log in on your Student Self Service. The reasons for your incomplete application will be listed under your private accommodation application. Please correct the application and resubmit. Please do not resubmit if the application was not corrected. Please visit the website for clear explanations on the reasons for incomplete applications if you are unsure what is expected from you.

Please note that no payment will be made before your private accommodation application is approved.

24. When is the closing date for NSFAS private accommodation applications?

The closing date for applications for private accommodation is 10 September 2021. Please note that no extension will be given.

25.I qualify for NSFAS transport allowance. What do I do to receive this allowance?

This process will be confirmed

Merit Bursaries

26. Do I have to apply for a merit bursary?

You do not have to apply for a merit bursary. The system will identify qualifying students and you will receive an SMS message to inform you of the amount you qualify for.

27. How do you determine who qualifies for a merit bursary?

Please visit the UFS website for complete information regarding the merit bursary.

28. Can I use my merit bursary to register?

Yes, you can use your merit bursary to pay for registration or a part of your registration fee, depending on the amount received.

29. For how long will my merit bursary be valid?

The merit bursary will be valid for five years.

30. When will my merit bursary be paid?

The merit bursary payment will be done after registration.

31. Is the merit bursary refundable?

NSFAS students cannot receive a refund on the merit bursary, since NSFAS is the last resort of funding and will only pay what the student needs.
When a student has another bursary, it will depend on the donor.
If the tuition fee account has been paid in full by the student, parents or guardian, then any possible credit may be refundable.

32. I was a final-year student and received a merit bursary. Do I have access to the funds?

You have to register again for a qualifying course in order for the merit bursary to be paid to your tuition fee account. The merit bursary is valid for five years.

Financial Aid

33. I am in need of funding. What should I do?

Please visit the UFS website for bursary information:

34. Where do I find Student Academic Services?

You can visit Student Academic Services at the following venues:

Bloemfontein Campus: George du Toit Administration Building, First Floor

Qwaqwa Campus: Administration Building, Ground Floor

35. Where do I find Financial Aid?

You can visit Financial Aid at the following venues:

Bloemfontein Campus: George du Toit Administration Building, First Floor

Qwaqwa Campus: Administration Building, Ground Floor, Room 17

36. Where do I find Student Finance?

You can visit Student Finance at the following venues:

Bloemfontein Campus: George du Toit Administration Building, First Floor

Qwaqwa Campus: Administration Building, Ground Floor

News Archive

UFS Department of Physics offers unique learning experience with on-campus radio telescope

2015-12-14

Athanasius Ramaila, an Honours student in the Department of Physics, and Dr Brian van Soelen, a lecturer from the same department, in the laboratory where the radio telescope is housed in the new wing of the Physics Building on the Bloemfontein Campus of the UFS. The telescope will be used to expose graduate students to the basic techniques of radio astronomy.
Photo: Charl Devenish

The university this year added a four-storey wing to the existing Physics Building on the Bloemfontein Campus. The new development, which includes four lecture halls and four laboratories, complements other world-class facilities such as the X-ray photoelectron spectroscope and the scanning electron microscope.

A unique asset that distinguishes the UFS Department of Physics from other similar institutions, is the Boyden Observatory situated approximately 27 km northeast of Bloemfontein. The observatory houses a powerful 1.5 m optical telescope, and several smaller, but well equipped telescopes.

According to Pieter Meintjes, Professor in the Department of Physics, the observatory has acquired a new addition - a 0.5 m optical telescope donated by the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) to the UFS Astrophysics Group. This optical telescope is one of two powerful optical telescopes used to introduce students to techniques such as photometry and spectroscopy.

“The telescope at Boyden forms an integral part of the Department of Physic’s student training and research programme. Because the UFS is the only university in South Africa operating such a facility, and one of only a few globally, Astrophysics students at the UFS have the unique privilege of having unrestricted access to these telescopes for their MSc and PhD studies,” says Prof Meintjes. In addition, the department has also built a radio telescope as part of a post-graduate student project. The telescope, housed in the new wing of the Physics Building at the Bloemfontein Campus of the UFS, will be used to expose graduate students to the basic techniques of radio astronomy, especially in light of the fact that the SKA is nascent. Prof Meintjes would like to act proactively by grounding his students in the relevant techniques of radio astronomy. The telescope will be used to introduce students to the manner in which radio flux calibrations are performed in order to determine the energy output of an emitting source.

At undergraduate level, the radio telescope will be used, together with optical telescopes in the Astrophysics laboratory, to place students at a high baseline regarding the level of multi-wavelength astrophysics training received at the UFS.

Third-year and Honours students will also have the opportunity of practical training in a research laboratory with 15 computers. The laboratory is equipped with software used to reduce and analyse multi-wavelength data.

“My goal is for the UFS to become the major centre of multi-wavelength astrophysics in South Africa and a key role player in the international arena. To be able to do this, our training should be world class,” Prof Meintjes said.

Aided by its world-class facilities and research, the Department of Physics is competing with the best in the world. Research-wise, a group from the Department of Physics is intensively involved with the SKA Project (Square Kilometre Array), with 3 000 dishes reaching from Carnavon in the Karoo to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. According to Prof Meintjes, many detailed studies can be conducted with the SKA system of sources, showing major eruptions and mass effluent from the systems. Athanasius Ramaila, a BSc Honours student in Astrophysics at the UFS, has also received a two-year SKA internship, where he will be engaged in the SKA software engineering programme to help with developing software for the telescope.

The UFS Astrophysics Group is focusing on the multi-wavelength study of high-energy astrophysics sources. “This multi-wavelength approach to astrophysics is in line with the recent announcement by government that multi wavelength astrophysics will be the main focus for astrophysics research in South Africa. It is also a very important focus for research in the international arena, as can be seen from the large number of international conferences having a multi-wavelength character,” Prof Meintjes said.

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