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UFS Virtual Graduation: Honouring the class of 2020

18 February 2021 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa

The University of the Free State (UFS) invites you to the 2021 Virtual Graduation, where students who completed their qualifications in June/July of 2020 will receive their qualifications during the ceremonies taking place from 22 to 24 February 2021.

Bachelor degrees (435), higher certificates (86), advanced certificates (230), postgraduate certificates (4), national professional diplomas (203), advanced diplomas (13), postgraduate diplomas (158), bachelors honours degrees (22), master’s (201), and doctoral qualifications (70) will be awarded to students across the UFS Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses.

Graduates in the faculties of Economic and Management Sciences, Education, Health Sciences, the Humanities, Law, Natural and Agricultural Sciences, and Theology and Religion will be honoured during the upcoming ceremonies for their academic excellence.

Graduation is the highlight on the university calendar, and even though this prestigious occasion will not be taking place traditionally, the UFS would still like to acknowledge and commemorate our graduates’ prestigious accomplishments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense disruption in many aspects of our lives. Higher education institutions throughout the world were not exempt from the effects of the deadly virus. This has subsequently impacted the presentation of graduation ceremonies throughout the sector.

The UFS looks forward to virtually celebrating the milestones of all graduates at the virtual graduation ceremonies, and thus implores all graduates to join us in doing so.

See information further below for details on how to join in on the celebrations.

The university hopes to celebrate many more graduations in future, but for now, the health and safety of our community is our primary concern.

#UFSGraduation2021 | #UFSVirtualGraduation

News Archive

Business School in top ranks of survey

2012-02-15

UFS Business School
Photo: Liezl Muller

The UFS Business School was ranked amongst the top business schools in South Africa in a survey by Finweek and MBAConnect.net. MBAConnect.net is the biggest social network for MBA graduates in South Africa.

More than 10 000 MBA graduates and students were invited to take part in the survey and 1 575 of them completed it. More than half of the respondents are in senior or executive positions.

Prof. Helena van Zyl, the Director of the UFS Business School, says any business school has a moral obligation towards its alumni to ensure that the quality of the qualification that they obtained is maintained, that network opportunities are created for graduates, and that job opportunities are communicated, etc. Investment in and involvement with the alumni are non-negotiable as they form the backbone of a business school.

The UFS Business School’s results are listed below. The respondents rated the school as the school with the highest:

percentage of respondents saying they had definitely made the right choice in doing an MBA: second with 92% (average 86%)
score in leadership effectiveness: third with 8.9 (average 8.7)
decision-making effectiveness: shares first place with 9.4 (average 9.1)
credibility in business: second with 8.9 (average 8.6)
impact of an MBA in changing industries: third with 8.3 (average 7.9)
score for influence of an MBA in starting your own business: second with 8.5 (average 6.9)
percentage of respondents saying an MBA was definitely worth the price paid: shares first place with 80% (average 72%)
score for changing the outlook of students: shares first place with 9.3 (average 8.9)
score for improving people’s views of their own potential: shares first place with 9.5 (average 9.1)
score for helping people become better leaders in their personal lives: shares third place with 8.3 (average 7.8).

The UFS Business School shared first place with its alumni averaging the shortest payback period amongst those who thought the MBA was worth it. Its score was 1.1 years (average 1.8 years)

The report says across all schools, at least 73% of students report a negative impact on their stress levels. In the worst case, this goes up to 94%. The impact on the UFS’s students was the lowest at 18%. The average was 81%. At least a quarter of students in all schools report a negative impact on their health, and it goes up to 47% in the worst case. The UFS got 0 (nil) in the category for serious impact.

Alumni of the UFS Business School were very satisfied with the school. These results are as follows:

Helps keep business knowledge up to date: third (6.5)
Provides networking opportunities: first (7.3)
Informs about business events: second (8.9)
Communicates regularly: first (9.2)
Helps access MBA-level jobs: second (6.2)
Helps build personal brand: first (5.2)
Helps start or grow business: first (5.2)

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