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07 July 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Dell.org
Dr Thashlin Govender, program director, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation South Africa.
The University of the Free State (UFS) is pleased to announce that it will be providing students with additional, holistic support to ensure no student is left behind during the COVID-19 pandemic. UFS aims to go beyond meeting the academic needs of students by bolstering initiatives aimed at providing mental health support, tending to future career anxiety, and upscaling mentorship. 

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic most students and educators have faced new challenges. Many are overwhelmed by online teaching styles and students with previous access to academic support on campus are now forced to go at it alone at home. These challenges result in more than potential long-term academic setbacks, they trigger emotional reactions which many students may not be equipped to solve whilst meeting academic and social demands.

In its commitment to ensure that all students are academically supported, the UFS introduced the Keep calm, #UFSLearnOn campaign for students and the #UFSTeachOn campaign for staff during April 2020. The projects the university will implement aim to build on this campaign and help tackle student’s new realities. The initiatives include extended one-on-one tutoring via the university’s A_STEP call centre, which will enable the upscaling of tutorial support for the most vulnerable students who are experiencing challenges with learning due to a lack of resources; scaling of e-mentoring to provide socio-emotional support to the broader student population and to create additional capacity for more accurate tracking of students’ support needs. This will lead to the required socio-emotional support for students affected by the circumstantial changes brought about by COVID-19. 

Other projects that will benefit from the funding include a dedicated toll-free 24-hour student mental-health helpline to better equip the university’s psychological support services to assist students who are experiencing mental-health crises; scaling graduate employability opportunities to expand the offering and reach of the UFS Career Services office and improve the efficiency of current initiatives; and additional support for Health Sciences students in the delivery of emotional support to students who are experiencing great uncertainty about the future due to the adapted online teaching and learning methodology. 

“The UFS has adopted an online learning approach and, although indications are that students have adapted to this mode of learning and teaching, the additional services will assist tremendously in ensuring that the university succeeds in completing the academic year. These projects are funded by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and we are grateful to have a committed and likeminded partner embarking on his journey with us,” says Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS. 

“Providing a supportive, encouraging environment is imperative for students to achieve academic success. This is truer now than ever before, as online learning has tasked students with taking their academic careers into their own hands, often with limited opportunities to receive personalised advice and support. Our hope is that the initiatives brought to life by UFS will serve as a catalyst for both short and long-term benefits for the students most in need,” says Dr Thashlin Govender program director, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation South Africa.

News Archive

UFS works closely with employees in the post-Reitz settlement process
2013-05-20

20 May 2013

In the light of an article in IOL News on 18 and 19 May 2013 and in Sunday Independent and Sunday Tribune on 19 May 2013 in which it is alleged that the University of the Free State (UFS) has failed to honour its commitment to the five Reitz employees we are pleased to report on the ongoing process and progress made with respect to their employment.

The university remained consistently true to the settlement agreement and High Court order of 2011 and cannot apologise for complying with the law. It was therefore impossible for us to talk to our colleagues directly until last week when we had a breakthrough meeting, which was cleared by the Human Rights Commission (HRC), and matters were resolved.

The UFS continues to work closely and now directly with the five employees to ensure that their rights as employees remain the highest priority in the post-settlement process.
 
All but one of the conditions of the Reitz settlement (own business) has already been met; however, we are in the process of providing training and support for the establishment of an independent business led by the employees.

After some delays, and frustration on all sides, we have found the right training provider for them and are satisfied that the process remains on track. The business office (furnished) has been allocated at the South Campus in Bloemfontein.

Already in late 2012 the Chair of the HRC expressed his satisfaction with the commitments made by the university to the process. By 30 June 2013 this outstanding commitment to establish an independent company with trained employees would also have been met in full.

Beyond the settlement agreement, the UFS has also committed to providing free education and training to the children of the employees so that their next generation of families emerge as strong, independent, well-trained and productive members of society. The child of one of the colleagues is in fact finishing Grade 12 this year and we are in discussion about possible studies at the UFS. This is our pledge and commitment as a university.

This final step in the post-Reitz settlement is being led by Dr Choice Makhetha, Vice-Rector of the University of the Free State.

 

Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director Strategic Communication
Tel: +27 (0) 51 401 2584 / +27 (0) 83 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 (0) 51 444 6393
Web: www.ufs.ac.za

 

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