Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
15 July 2022 | Story Lacea Loader

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) approved the lifting of the institution’s COVID-19 Regulations and Required Vaccination Policy with immediate effect.

“Since the declaration by the Government on 22 June 2022 that the COVID-19 regulations will be repealed, the UFS has conducted a risk assessment to determine the risk of exposure to staff and students. From the assessment, it was clear that the university’s COVID-19 infections are currently a low risk,” said Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

Factors that contributed to this low risk include the following:

  • No COVID-19 positive cases among UFS staff and students have been reported in the past month.
  • The high number of vaccinations among UFS stakeholders. In addition, the current national immunity level of the total South African population is high.
  • Certain faculties and postgraduate students are currently proceeding with hybrid/online learning, which minimises the risk of possible COVID-19 infections on the university’s three campuses.
  • In its correspondence of 23 June 2022, the UFS urged all staff and students to continue wearing masks should they have comorbidities and/or symptoms of illness, thus safeguarding other stakeholders.

“We believe that COVID-19 no longer poses an immediate threat to the safety of our staff and students, and that the pandemic is at a stage where they should take responsibility for their own safety. This can be mainly ascribed to the success of the implementation of the policy. Staff and students who still wish to wear masks are urged to do so at their own discretion. Those who have not yet been vaccinated against the virus and have no

known condition preventing them from doing so, are advised to get vaccinated for their own safety and protection,” said Prof Petersen.

The UFS COVID-19 Regulations and Required Vaccination Policy was approved by the University Council on 26 November 2021 and implemented on 6 December 2021. The university commenced restricting unvaccinated individuals from accessing its campuses as of 14 February 2022.

“If the national regulatory environment with respect to COVID-19 is changing to such an extent that the policy needs to be re-implemented, the university’s executive management will act accordingly, and hence the COVID-19 Regulations and Required Vaccination Policy remains a policy of the university as approved by the UFS Council on 26 November 2021.” said Prof Petersen.

 

Uplifting of the COVID-19 vaccination policy - mitigation strategies of the University of the Free State.

News Archive

National U21 Hockey Player of the Year is a Kovsie
2015-09-16

 
The best U21 hockey player in the country
for 2015, Nicole Walraven

Nicole Walraven, a student at the University of the Free State (UFS), had a pleasant surprise waiting for her on 29 August 2015. She had participated at the Women's Interprovincial Tournament in Potchefstroom, and watching the finals from the stands with her family when the announcement was made.

“They announced that they were going to award South Africa’s (SA) Under-21 player of the year. It did not even go through my head that I could stand a chance of winning it. Then next minute, I hear my name being called. ”

“To win such an amazing award means so much to me. To be acknowledged as SA Under-21 player of the year of the entire country is still something that hasn't sunk in yet; I still can't believe it,” remarked Nicole.

Prior to this tournament, the 20-year-old was selected by the South African Hockey Association to represent South Africa, at senior level, at the World League in Spain and has again made the senior squad for selection to play in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in October.

Nicole, a descendant of hockey players, is ambitious about winning the Africa Cup, which would open doors to the Rio Olympics.  “It is my biggest dream to go to the Olympics. If I had the chance to go, I would be the 4th generation Olympian in my family,” she said.

In addition to her family, the final-year BA Human Movement Sciences student, credits her lecturers for her ability to juggle academics and a thriving sports career successfully.

“I owe it to my lecturers and the University for making it possible for me to pursue my dream as well as my studies,” she said, “It hasn't been easy, and I've had to make a lot of sacrifices but it's most definitely worth it.”

Also representing Kovsies on the SA Women’s Hockey team are Liné Malan and Tanya Britz.

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

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