Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
05 March 2021

Message from Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor: 5 March 2021

Dear Senior Undergraduate Students

We are well into the first part of 2021 with the University of the Free State’s (UFS) academic programme that commenced on 1 March 2021.

This communication aims to provide our senior undergraduate students with information and some clarity on how the university is approaching the start of its academic programme and the progress that has been made. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed many challenges to universities across the country; for instance, to find innovative ways of completing the 2020 academic year without leaving any student behind and, at the same time, keeping safety, health, and well-being a top priority.

The pandemic provided ample opportunities to embrace technology and introduce new innovative learning and teaching approaches in 2020, as well as a first-ever online registration process for all our students in 2021. The higher-education landscape is now being reshaped by rapid advances in technology, and this will require continued commitment from all of us to reimage communities that were unimaginable just a decade ago.

With this in mind, one needs to emphasise that any substantial change-management process will pose challenges. To date, 64% of our students who have registered, have done so online. This is a sharp increase from the comparable 20% of last year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our students and staff for embracing this substantial change in our processes.

However, the university is aware that some of our students find it difficult to register for several reasons, and that this is creating unprecedented anxiety levels among staff and students. It is therefore very important that we identify the underlying blockages and find amicable solutions to ensure that those students who have not yet registered, can do so speedily. Furthermore, it is crucial that the digital skills of our students are developed, as this will be the way in which the university will approach the registration process in the future.

The university’s blended learning programme for 2021 allows for 34% of students to return during the first semester. Although our country is currently on Level 1 of the national lockdown, the percentage of students who return is not linked to the lockdown level, but to the university’s teaching and learning approach and the institution's infrastructure capacity to adhere to physical distancing protocols.

I am aware of the recent comment made by Dr Zweli Mkhize regarding a third wave of COVID-19 post-Easter, as the country continues to roll out its vaccination strategy. Easter is typically a period of family gatherings and the university holidays also follow the Easter weekend. This is yet another reason why the university is exercising caution in its return-to-campus strategy.

To ensure that senior undergraduate students register successfully and can continue with their studies, the following measures have been put into place:

1. The online registration process is extended until Friday 12 March 2021 to allow students who have not yet registered to do so.

2. Classes for selected senior undergraduate students that commenced on or before 1 March 2021, will continue. However, students whose registration has been delayed due to the online registration process, will be supported through a differentiated commencement of classes allowing for a catch-up plan, thus avoiding any student being left behind. Faculties will communicate to these students when online classes will be starting.

3. Additional capacity will be provided to support faculties and campuses in order to expedite the registration process. The university management is aware of the high volumes of enquiries and calls received from students, and this intervention will assist with the turnaround time. In extreme circumstances, students who are identified as vulnerable and are still experiencing challenges with registering, will be requested to do so on campus where they will be assisted in a central venue.

These measures have been put in place for the benefit of our students and to ensure that we can all complete the 2021 academic year successfully.

It is understandable that those students who will not return to the campuses will miss campus life and would like their student life to return to the way it was. However, access to the campuses remains restricted to only registered students for face-to-face teaching and identified postgraduate students in possession of valid 2021 campus-access permits. Permits are being issued centrally and are valid for the period that a student is expected to be on campus. This measure remains in place to ensure compliance with the national regulations and to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19.

The dedication and commitment of staff are commendable; they are working tirelessly to support our students during this time, and I thank them for their supportive spirit. In the end, our collective goal is to ensure that our students succeed this year, and that no student is left behind.

Remember that the pandemic continues to test every aspect of society, and although the infection rate is slowly decreasing and the vaccine is rolled out across the country, we must not underestimate the impact that the pandemic still has on local and global communities. Take care of yourselves and those around you and comply with the national guidelines and regulations.

I would like to encourage you to stay in touch with the university. Visit the UFS website and social-media platforms for regular updates and consult your ufs4life email for communication from the university.

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

Download the letter (pdf)

News Archive

Dr Khotso Mokhele joins ranks of distinguished Chancellors
2010-11-21

Attending the inauguration ceremony are, from the left: Mr Pule Makgoe, MEC for Education in the Free State and member of the UFS Council; Judge Ian van der Merwe, Chairperson of the UFS Council; Dr Khotso Mokhele, newly inaugurated Chancellor of the UFS; and Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS.
Photo: Dries Myburgh

Dr Khotso Mokhele joined the ranks of distinguished Chancellors of the University of the Free State (UFS) with his inauguration as the new Chancellor of the institution at a ceremony on Friday, 19 November 2010.

The lustrous ceremony took place on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein and was attended by hundreds of guests from all over South Africa.

Dr Mokhele said in his speech: “I am excited to have been invited by the UFS to join its community at the time when it is attempting to reinvent itself into an institution that will be counted amongst those that will shape the local, regional, national will, and by so doing, contribute to the shaping of an African will.”

Dr Mokhele follows in the footsteps of Dr Franklin Sonn, former Ambassador of South Africa in the United States of America and receiver of many awards, acknowledgements, and honorary doctorates, who retired earlier this year. Dr Sonn was preceded by Ms Winkie Direko, former premier of the Free State.

His acceptance of the role of Chancellor is a great honour for the UFS.

According to Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, it is a proud moment to welcome someone from the Province as the Chancellor of this university. With his strong academic values and deep sense of human compassion, Dr Mokhele is one of but a few uncompromising leaders. He is also an inspiring, determined pioneer and a role model to all our students.

Few have done as much to guide the development of science in South Africa since democracy in 1994 as Dr Mokhele. His vision and actions as a senior science manager have been guided by his deep conviction that for a truly democratic society to emerge in South Africa all people must be empowered to be its architects and must have unhindered access to those careers upon which our economy is built.

Dr Khotso Mokhele was born and raised in Bloemfontein. After matriculating from the Moroka High School he went on to study at Fort Hare, where he graduated with a B.Sc. in Agriculture, winning the Massey-Ferguson award for the best student in that field. As a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright-Hays Scholarship, he entered the University of California in Davis where he took a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. degree, both in Microbiology. He was awarded post-doctoral fellowships at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, and at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Dr Mokhele returned to South Africa in 1987, set on becoming a top-class academic and researcher. He held lecturing posts at the Universities of Fort Hare (1987-1989) and Cape Town (1990-1992). In 1992 he joined the Foundation for Research Development (FRD) as one of its Vice-Presidents. He succeeded to its presidency in 1996 and then from 1999 to 2006 became the first President of the National Research Foundation (NRF).  He successfully merged the FRD and the Centre for Science Development of the Human Sciences Research Council. Under his visionary leadership the NRF has come to play a pivotal role in the development agenda of the country. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the South African Academy of Sciences serving as its founder president (1996-1998).

Dr Khotso Mokhele's contribution to science in South Africa has received wide recognition locally and abroad. He has received nine honorary doctorates. He was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the President of France in recognition of his personal efforts in strengthening scientific ties between France and South Africa, and was appointed a director of the Salzburg Seminar, an institution focused on global change, and subsequently a member of its Council of Senior Fellows.

He also serves on the boards of major companies such as Implats, Adcock Ingram and Afrox.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za19 November 2010
 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept