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UFS alumna now heading the institution’s School of Nursing

15 February 2022 | Story Andrè Damons

Dr Jeanette Mmabosa Sebaeng, newly appointed Head of the School of Nursing at the University of the Free State (UFS), is a UFS alumna who believes that the skills and knowledge she has learned here and at other institutions where she has worked, would contribute towards the vision of the university. Dr Sebaeng assumed her new position in January 2022 and is looking forward to working with Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the rest of the team in the school and the faculty.

Joining Kovsies

“I am so thrilled; some of the expected roles of this position include serving in some university management structures beyond the school and external stakeholders, and I look forward to the exposure and profound experiences I will receive in this institution,” says Dr Sebaeng. According to her, the decision to join Kovsies emanated from her envisaged personal and professional growth, mainly in the sphere of management and leadership in the nursing profession as well as in the university. “The organisational culture of ubuntu embedded in the UFS learning and teaching strategy resonates well with the saying in my culture: ‘Motho ke motho ka batho ba bangwe’ (I am because you are). The ubuntu principles of respect, caring, compassion, and dignity of others are in alignment with my personal values, and this in itself is an assurance that I will fit snuggly and thrive in the Kovsie environment.”

The University of the Free State’s vision of producing students who are professionally competent and globally employable, seems to be attainable. During my first two weeks in office, I received documents from Dubai, Philadelphia, and London for academic verification of our graduates who applied for job opportunities in these countries. This is fascinating, and I wish there could be a way of getting feedback from employers in these and other countries to determine if we are producing graduates with the desired attributes that are internationally comparable,” says Dr Sebaeng.

Looking forward

“The world of nursing education in the country is very small and there is a lot of interaction among members from different universities. I learned on one platform that the UFS School of Nursing has a state-of-the-art simulation laboratory rated number one and the best in the country and perhaps even in Southern Africa. I cannot wait to engage with both the staff and students about the use of the simulation laboratory; I would like to ensure its optimal use, while maintaining it for the benefit of the students.”

Visions and goals

As Head of the school, Dr Sebaeng hopes to provide leadership, guidance, and support to staff and students in the School of Nursing, and to ensure that the environment is warm and conducive to all. She is also looking forward to working harmoniously with the staff within the school, as she believes in an environment that enables all staff members to flourish in the expected academic activities. “I will also ensure that I work according to the acceptable and recommended norms and standards of the nursing profession, which will be to the benefit of the School of Nursing and the nursing practice. For instance, good relations with the relevant stakeholders such as the FSDoH, clinical health facilities, and the South African Nursing Council, among others, remain crucial for the education and training of nursing students. All members’ views and inputs leading to the upscaling of the school will be valued,” states Dr Sebaeng.

Dr Sebaeng, who previously worked as a lecturer and researcher at the North-West University (NWU), says there is a vast difference between her current position and the previous one. According to her, her current position brings more responsibilities, including leading, guiding, and making decisions that should yield tangible, set goals aligned with the vision of the university.

A mother of two and grandmother of a handsome two-year-old grandson, Dr Sebaeng is adventurous and loves travelling outside the country, with an outgoing personality to match. Cooking and trying out new dishes with her family is also very satisfying. She also loves interacting with young children, which led her to teaching Sunday school for 30 years. “My life mainly revolves around church, home, and work,” says Dr Sebaeng.

The impact of COVID-19 on nurses

Nursing education teaches nurses to be competent, knowledgeable, and to acquire relevant skills that enable them to assume their professional role with confidence. However, nurses also require optimal health to provide quality care to our societies. “The outbreak of COVID-19 has taught us that nursing in South Africa lacks systems aimed at developing resilience and coping mechanisms during pandemics. Most nurses were and still are scared that they may contract the virus and infect their own families, or even worse, die themselves. Nursing education institutions must include workable psychological interventions in the teaching of student nurses, which will assist nurses to survive during future pandemics. Despite this, clinical practices must try to alleviate compassion fatigue, work-related stress, and burnout experienced by nurses, in order to render optimal health care and to continue to be functional in their daily activities.”

News Archive

State of our campuses: UFS closes campuses until Friday 28 October 2016 to readjust academic programme

2016-10-15

UFS announces strategy for completion of the 2016 academic year

Agreement between UFS management and student leadership in relation to residences

After almost four weeks of student protests about fees at the University of the Free State (UFS) and the subsequent suspension of the academic programme and closing of campuses, the senior leadership announced on 14 October 2016 a strategy to ensure that students will be able to complete the 2016 academic year.

The university on 13 October 2016 announced that it will shut down its Bloemfontein and South Campuses until 28 October 2016 for crucial and complex arrangements to be put in place to readjust the academic calendar and ensure that all students can complete their studies. The senior leadership did, however, make it clear that the university will not be shutting down for the remainder of 2016.

No teaching and learning activities at undergraduate and honours level will be offered between 17 October and 28 October 2016. The university will re-start teaching and learning at undergraduate and honours level in the first week of November 2016.

However, teaching and learning will not take place in the classrooms during November 2016, but through a different mode of delivery that consists of a combination of printed and recorded lectures, study materials and learning aids that will be provided by the university and delivered through Blackboard. In this manner no attempts at disrupting the rest of the academic year will affect our students’ academic programme. Students, however, will sit for the exam on campus.

Students in residence accommodation can return to campus as from 29 October 2016 and it is recommended that students who do not have off-campus internet access return to campus in order to access study material to complete the academic year.A new timetable for exams is still being developed and will be communicated as soon as the arrangements have been finalised.

Faculties have been differently affected by the loss of teaching time. Some faculties like the Faculty of Law have completed their curriculum, while other faculties like the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences require more teaching time. Some faculties, like the Faculty of Health Sciences, cannot do teaching through alternative modes of delivery.

The needs of the different faculties have been taken into account for developing a rescue plan to complete the 2016 academic year.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will continue its classes and clinical rotations as normal for all three schools on the Bloemfontein Campus and in the relevant hospitals. All students registered in programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences will stay in residences for the full period of their studies and exams. Final-year medical students will graduate in December 2016 as expected.
In the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, final-year students for the Certificate in the Theory of Accounting (CTA) will stay on campus during October through to December 2016 and their classes and tests will not change.
Arrangements for all other faculties and programmes are being prepared and within the next week, students and parents/guardians will receive communication about how curriculum content will be completed and when the final exams will take place.
The university is extending the academic year so that we can recuperate all the lost teaching and learning time. The qualifications conferred on the 2016 class will be of the same quality and standards as all UFS qualifications.

The UFS is and will remain a fundamentally contact teaching and learning education university. However, under the current circumstances faced not only by the UFS, but higher-education institutions across the country, the best way of ensuring the integrity of the academic programmes in most faculties is by using an alternative way of teaching and learning. Other South African universities have chosen the same approach to be able to complete the academic year.

Instead of students going to class, they will have content delivered to them where they are (library, computer labs, their own computers, etc.) through Blackboard and printed and electronic material. This is a different way of learning but students will be carefully guided and supported.

Faculties are currently preparing all the necessary materials and instructions to support student learning.Standards and quality will be the same as if students were attending classes. Some faculties require practical laboratory work as part of their curriculum. The exam timetable will be adapted for these students to be able to complete their practical work when the academic activities commences in November 2016. The relevant faculties will communicate the schedule of practical work directly to the students.

Students in their final year will complete their studies during 2016. It is possible that in some cases the graduation ceremony for these students will be in June 2017 instead of April 2017. This will not prejudice students with bursaries, or committed employment in law firms or other businesses. The university will provide the necessary academic transcripts as proof of the completion of the relevant qualifications. None of these changes will affect postgraduate students.

The university will maintain regular communication with students and parents/guardians to update them on the new exams timetable.Faculties will communicate directly with students about issues related to their programmes.

“One of the areas in which significant progress was made, is that we were able to agree on a basis for stability with student leaders. The student protests occurred during an important time in the university’s academic calendar and the readjustment of our academic programme has put tremendous pressure on academic and support services staff, and created anxieties for parents,” said Prof Nicky Morgan, Acting Rector of the UFS.

“The senior leadership restates its commitment to free education as well as its willingness to stand together with students and other public universities to impress on government the urgency to decide on a time frame for the roll-out of free higher education for the poor and missing middle. We will use the next two weeks to meet with the leadership of Universities South Africa to coordinate collective action in this regard. We will furthermore also roll out a series of activities to inform and educate students and the general public on different models and experiences of providing free higher education,” he said.

The strategy to readjust the 2016 academic year is applicable to students on the Bloemfontein and South Campuses.

Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

State of our campuses #15: UFS closes campuses until Friday 28 October 2016 to readjust academic programme

State of our campuses #14: All academic activities on UFS campuses remain suspended on 13 and 14 October 2016

State of our campuses #13: Availability of information about plans for remainder of UFS 2016 calendar year

State of our campuses #12: All academic activities at UFS campuses suspended for 11 and 12 October 2016

State of our campuses #11: Academic activities on UFS campuses continue

State of our campuses #10: Impact of non-completion of the 2016 academic year on UFS students

State of our campuses #9: Academic programme on all UFS campuses to resume on Monday 10 October 2016

State of our campuses #8: UFS extends vacation as from 28 September until 7 October 2016, 28 September 2016

State of our campuses #7: All three UFS campuses will be closed today, 27 September 2016.

State of our campuses #6: All UFS campuses reopen on Tuesday 27 September 2016

State of our campuses #5: UFS campuses to remain closed on Monday 26 September 2016

State of our campuses #4: Decisions about the UFS academic calendar

State of our campuses #3: UFS campuses closed until Friday 23 September 2016

State of our campuses #2: UFS Bloemfontein and South Campuses closed on Tuesday 20 September 2016 (19 September 2016)

State of our campuses #1: Academic activities suspended on UFS Bloemfontein Campus (19 September 2016)

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