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09 May 2020
Dear Students

UPDATE ON DEVELOPMENTS AT THE UFS

I hope you are well, healthy, and safe. I also hope that you are engaging with your friends and lecturers regularly, and that you have settled into the online learning environment. As with communities around the world – including higher education institutions – Kovsies also feel the impact of the exceptional circumstances resulting from the global COVID-19 outbreak. So much has changed, and our lives are directly and indirectly affected. It is a true test of our resilience and ability to adapt to a changing environment.

I know that it has not always been easy for you – none of us were prepared for a global pandemic of this magnitude. But I also see this as an opportunity for us to develop our learning and teaching model and to find ways of further enhancing the university’s processes and systems.

The suspension of the academic programme and the national lockdown had a huge effect on our staff and students. We had to act fast to ensure the continuation of the 2020 academic programme. Our first priority was to develop low-tech online and distance approaches to learning and teaching. Consequently, we developed support for academic staff and students to navigate the new online learning environment. We also revised our academic calendar and rolled out a carefully planned emergency remote teaching and learning methodology.

It is encouraging to know that you began with online learning this week. Early indications are that the Transition and Orientation from 20 to 30 April 2020 worked well in preparing you for the online learning that started on 4 May 2020. It is also good to know that the #UFSLearnOn material helped you to get ready for the start of online academic activities. Be assured that your lecturers are working hard to deliver a quality teaching and learning experience in the current circumstances. Just as this is a new experience for you, it is also a new learning experience for your lecturers. You may still experience some challenges with your academics as we complete the first week of online learning. Please contact your lecturers and/or faculties so that we can find solutions for you. You can also visit the Digital Life Portal (under the Student Toolbox) on the KovsieLife website.

You have been away from your lecturers, friends, familiar surroundings, and campus facilities for a long time, and I know that you miss it. Unfortunately, the university is bound by Level 4 restrictions and it is not possible to allow any students back on our campuses until so directed by the national government. Only final-year MB ChB students are allowed to return to campus next week – as per the directive from the national government. The majority of staff are also working from home until otherwise indicated, and in accordance with national directives for the further easing of lockdown restrictions.

This is not a university decision but is prescribed in terms of national regulations. Be assured that the university has taken adequate measures to ensure the safety of all facilities, assets, and private belongings on the campuses. We will let you know as soon as we receive a directive that students may be allowed on campus – this will be done in a phased approach in order to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Your safety, health, and well-being remain our first priority. Look after yourself and your mental health – make use of the #WellnessWarriors campaign of our Department of Student Counselling and Development that is aimed at encouraging health and well-being among students.

Please remember to regularly check the official communication platforms to stay up to date with developments at the university. Avoid fake news, verify information, and only consult the official communication platforms. 

Obeying the lockdown restrictions is an act of kindness to yourself and to others; #StayAtHome and practise social distancing.

I wish you all the best with your studies and hope to see you on our campuses soon.


Best regards

Prof Francis Petersen
Rector and Vice-Chancellor


News Archive

Department of English changed to empower students
2017-07-05

Description:Department of English Tags: Department of English

Lecturers from the Department of English at the University of the Free State have been working
hard to create a robust learning environment for students through continuous assessment.
Photo: Sonia Small


A new curriculum, exciting third-year seminars, and a transition to continuous assessment. These are some of the changes made by the Department of English at the University of the Free State (UFS) over the past few years. The department, which also boasts four National Research Foundation (NRF) researchers, did this to tailor the curriculum towards the needs of its students and to foster a better culture of engagement.

According to Prof Helene Strauss, Head of the Department, the advantages of these changes are clear. “Staff have noted a significant improvement in both the basic writing and critical deliberation skills of our students, and in the responsibility they are taking for their own learning.” The new curriculum empowers students to take a position in relation to the knowledge they encounter in the classroom, thereby strengthening their own critical voice.

Taking continuous responsibility

One of the most significant changes for students was the fact that they have to take responsibility all the time. Prof Strauss says continuous assessment changed “last-minute cramming to near-daily, student-centred activities of reading, writing, and critical discovery.”

Because students have to prepare for lectures and reflect on materials, they are in a better position to internalise difficult debates and critical concepts. “Rather than telling students what to think, we help them develop flexible, critical tools to make sense of a changing world.”

Third-year seminars are another way of including forms of instruction that concentrate on the links between education and democracy, but still improve students’ ability to speak and write English accurately. Every semester, students can choose seminars from a range of topics such as ‘Witchcraft’ (Prof Margaret Raftery) and ‘The Art of Dying’ (Dr Mariza Brooks).

Research and associates around the world

Dr Marthinus Conradie, Dr Rodwell Makombe, Prof Irikidzayi Manase, and Prof Strauss are all NRF-rated researchers in the department.

The department also has affiliated research associates from countries including Zimbabwe, the USA, and Canada. Dr Kudzayi Ngara currently holds a competitive NRF grant for a project on Southern African urbanity, and Dr Philip Aghoghovwia recently received the prestigious African Humanities Programme Fellowship.

Under the guidance of Dr Ngara, the department has been able to roll out a new Honours programme on the Qwaqwa Campus. The campus now also offers students the opportunity to pursue MA and PhD studies.

Other highlights:
• Hosted the international Institute of the Association for Cultural Studies in 2015.
• Books published: Dr Susan Brokensha (with Burgert Senekal). Surfers van die Tsunami: Navorsing en Inligtingstegnologie binne die Geesteswetenskappe (SUN MeDIA, 2014); Prof Iri Manase. White Narratives: The depiction of post-2000 land invasions in Zimbabwe (UNISA Press, 2016); as well as co-edited volumes with Cambridge Scholars Publishing (Dr Oliver Nyambi) and Routledge (Prof Helene Strauss).
• Publications include three special journal issues (of ISI journals Critical Arts: South-North Cultural and Media Studies; Safundi: The Journal of South African and American Studies; Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies).

 



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