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UFS eases students’ back-to-class transition with financial registration concessions

17 February 2022 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Sonia Small

The University of the Free State realises that the registration period can be stressful and frustrating to students for various reasons.

In an effort to ensure that as many students as possible can successfully register for the 2022 academic year, the University of the Free State (UFS) has introduced a number of financial concessions. These financial concessions are specifically intended to fast-track the registration process of students who are currently awaiting confirmation of funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

Students with challenges regarding the application of the N+ rule

Students who have previously registered for foundation programmes and those who have continued with mainstream programmes will be allowed to register without the prerequisite of a first payment. This is on condition that they apply with the N+ rule (an added year of funding) and that their respective foundation programmes are included in the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET)-funded list. Only students who do not have outstanding debt will qualify for this concession.

2022 NSFAS-funded students

In addition, students whose funding has been confirmed by NSFAS for the 2022 academic year, will be permitted to register without a first payment.

Students without NSFAS 2022 funding confirmation with outstanding debt

Students awaiting NSFAS funding confirmation for 2022 will be allowed to register provisionally if their debt does not exceed R25 000.

Approval has been obtained to increase the maximum debt carried forward from 2021 from R20 000 to R25 000 to enable students to register provisionally.

Provisional registration for continuing NSFAS students

Furthermore, continuing NSFAS students who are currently awaiting funding confirmation for the 2022 academic year, will be permitted to register provisionally. These are students

• who have been funded by NSFAS in 2021;

• whose funding reflects on the NSFAS Bursary Agreement Report for the year 2021; and

• who have passed 50% of registered modules in 2021 or are in their final year in 2022.

• The offer for continuing students to register provisionally also extend to those who are in the N+1 period.

The official registration of these students will be subject to funding approval from NSFAS for the 2022 academic year. To ensure that all students are in classes on 21 February 2022, the abovementioned group of students have until 31 March 2022 to confirm their funding.

Conditional registration for first-time entering students

With registration an overwhelming experience for first-time entering students, the UFS is also looking at concessions for these students who will start their studies at the university this year.

The university has given first-time entering students who have applied for NSFAS funding and are awaiting confirmation, until 28 February 2022 to finalise their registration.

Permission to finalise registration a week after the UFS registration cut-off time is granted to all South African first-time entering undergraduate students who are admitted and term-activated for 2022 NSFAS-funded academic programmes, and whose funding has not yet been confirmed.

The amount payable for conditional registration for first-time entering students (residential and non-residential) is R500.

The UFS is hopeful that these financial concessions will assist in calming anxiety around the ongoing registration process.

News Archive

Access meets quality in UFS-Varsity College partnership for law degree

2012-07-30

At the event were, from the left: Mr Frank Thompson, CEO of ADvTECH, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, and Prof. Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the UFS.
Photo: Johan Roux
30 July 2012

The University of the Free State (UFS) and Varsity College this week officially launched a partnership whereby the university’s Faculty of Law will offer a four-year Bachelor of Law qualification through the UFS School of Open Learning on eight Varsity College campuses nationwide. This new degree will be offered as early as 2013.

This is the fulfilment of a dream, said Prof. Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the university. He was one of the speakers at the event that was attended by staff members and management from the, Faculty of Law, the university’s South Campus, Varsity College and ADvTECH.

The UFS Faculty of Law is one of the oldest and most distinguished faculties of law in South Africa, and has a close association with several overseas universities which ensures that the institution is internationally recognised.

“I am very positive and enthusiastic about this new partnership. We want to make this an enriching experience for staff and students from both the university as well as Varsity College,” Prof. Henning said.

The CEO of ADvTECH, Mr Frank Thompson, said he is overjoyed about the project and its potential. Varsity College is a brand of the ADvTECH Group, a JSE listed company invested in human capital.

“This is a new beginning for Varsity College and the UFS. Learning together, the slogan for this project, is very appropriate. We are excited to add new students to the university and Varsity College’s line-up,” Mr Thompson said.

Varsity College is part of the Independent Institute of Education (IIE), the leading provider of private higher education in South Africa. According to Dr Felicity Coughlan, Director of the IIE, the partnership between the IIE and the university is an example of the potential that is inherent in public-private partnerships to increase the range of high quality options available to students.

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, who also was one of the speakers at this event, said with this partnership, students will get the best of both worlds in accessing higher education.

The Faculty of Law will ensure that students obtain both a thorough grounding in legal theory, as well as a solid practical foundation, and Varsity College, through a strong commitment to innovative teaching and learning, will empower more students to become legal graduates of the highest calibre. Thus, the innovative partnership between the UFS and Varsity College will produce a Bachelor of Law degree that is highly sought after in the legal profession.

This partnership is the first of its kind, paving the way for increased collaboration between public and private tertiary institutions to best serve the education sector and the future of graduates.

“This is what is possible when two dynamic partners like the university and Varsity College come together,” Prof. Jansen said.

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