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13 March 2020 | Story Ilze Bakkes

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Are you in Grade 12? Would you like to join the Kovsie family in 2021?

Remember to keep your mobile phone and an active email address ready, as you require both to access and complete the online application form.

Proceed through all the steps and submit your electronic application. Make sure that you complete the application form properly, e.g. if you need on-campus residence accommodation or financial aid, indicate this in the relevant section.

Upload copies of the following in PDF or JPEG format when you apply for undergraduate studies:

  • Your ID if you are a South African citizen
  • Your passport if you are an international student
  • Your parent’s ID or passport if you are younger than 18
  • National Senior Certificate if you have already matriculated
  • Your final Grade 11 results with the school’s stamp
  • Your academic record, only if you are a current student at another institution of higher learning
  • USAf accreditation from the examination board for South African universities, only if you are an international student. Apply to mb.usaf.ac.za for conditional exemption, foreign conditional exemption, or mature age conditional exemption.

The online application is quick and easy – no hassle, no fuss! It has an easy and modern design and is mobile- and tablet-friendly. You can apply using any device. You can expect a quicker response time if you apply online.

IMPORTANT APPLICATION OPENING DATES:

Date

Programmes for which applications open

1 April 2020

Applications to study any undergraduate programme offered on the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses in 2021

1 July 2020

Applications to study any University Access Programme (UAP) offered on the South Campus and the sub-regions in 2021

 

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO STUDY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE?

For degree studies at the University of the Free State, we expect that

  • you have a National Senior Certificate or National Vocational Certificate with an endorsement that allows entrance to degree studies (bachelor’s degree) or an equivalent qualification;
  • you meet all the minimum admission requirements for the programme you intend to study. Meeting the minimum admission requirements for your chosen/intended programme of study does not guarantee admission, as limited space is available in each programme;

     

  • you have a minimum level of 4 (50%) in the UFS language of instruction; and
  • you must pass certain school subjects with a minimum level of achievement in order to take a certain university module. For example, you must get a mark of 70% for Mathematics in Grade 12 if you plan to study BSc majoring in Physics with Engineering subjects.

For more information on the selection and non-selection undergraduate programmes, admission requirements, closing dates for application, and the vibrant Kovsie student life, click here

 

 

 

News Archive

A bridge to the future for school leavers
2009-03-04

 
Ms Merridy Wilson-Strydom, Research Consultant at the Centre for Higher Education Studies and Development at the UFS. 
 Photo: Supplied)

Thousands of learners in the country’s high schools fail to qualify for post-school education and training. Now a unique project funded by the Ford Foundation and being piloted at the University of the Free State (UFS) seeks to provide such learners with a lifeline.

The 2008 Grade 12 results showed once again that the schooling system is – and has been for a long time – in the throes of a severe crisis. The most disturbing feature of this crisis is that the system does not produce learners with the required level of literacy, numeracy and other cognitive skills to further their education or to become part of the country’s workforce.

Clearly this situation is untenable in a developing country such as ours, facing the immense challenges of a severe skills shortage, poverty and unemployment. We cannot afford to have hundreds of thousands of young people walking the streets without any prospect of a decent living and a future of opportunity.

The UFS and partners in the Free State Higher Education Consortium (FSHEC) have devised a unique programme to help underprepared and even unprepared school-leavers who have fallen through the cracks of the school system.

“We are hoping to make a meaningful contribution to the challenging field of creating educational opportunities for post-school study and the world of work through the generous support of the Ford Foundation,” says Ms Merridy Wilson-Strydom, Research Consultant at the Centre for Higher Education Studies and Development at the UFS.

“The Skills for a Changing World Programme is specifically aimed at removing barriers to educational opportunities for school-leavers who are not able to access higher education – mainstream or extended degrees. At the moment there are few, if any, meaningful opportunities for those learners who come through the school system un/underprepared,” she says.

The primary target group for the NQF Level-5 Programme is young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who are currently excluded from post-schooling educational opportunities. The duration of the programme is one year.

According to Ms Wilson-Strydom, the core modules of the activity-driven curriculum are English Literacy and Language Development, Mathematical Literacy, Information and Communication Technology and Your Global Positioning System (YGPS), which focuses on study skills and critical life skills, e.g. dealing with diversity. Students will also be supported to make informed choices about their future study or career directions.

“The development of the core-module materials is almost complete and from the second semester we plan to test the programme by means of a pilot project, which will be conducted on the UFS’s South Campus in Bloemfontein,” says Ms Wilson-Strydom.

“The pilot study will involve a group of 20-50 learners who have finished Grade 12 but do not qualify for the UFS bridging programme known as the Career Preparation Programme or any other higher-education programmes,” says Ms Wilson-Strydom.

Although not yet accredited, the project team aims to have the programme accredited as a Higher Certificate and is also exploring the possibility of registering the programme as a Short Learning Programme.

“One of the challenges with access and bridging programmes in the country is that students do not obtain a formal qualification for their bridging year. Hence those who do not continue with higher-education study (or cannot continue for various reasons such as finances), do not gain the recognition they should get for what they have learnt during their bridging year.”

“Our focus on developing the Skills for a Changing World Programme as a qualification in its own right is a key innovation in the current education and training landscape,” says Ms Wilson-Strydom.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
4 March 2009
 

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