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26 October 2023 | Story VALENTINO NDABA | Photo PEXELS
mental health during exam season
Ensuring good mental wellbeing is very important ahead of and during exam periods.

As the exam season approaches, students across the board face large amounts of extra stress and anxiety. Examinations carry tremendous weight in determining students’ prospects, making it a time of immense pressure.

The Department of Student Counselling and Development (SCD) at the University of the Free State (UFS) has been a steadfast source of support to its students since the SCD's establishment in 1977. SCD offers an array of free services to all registered students across the Bloemfontein, South, and Qwaqwa campuses, regardless of their level of study, whether undergraduate or postgraduate.

SCD's primary objective is to cultivate a deep understanding of holistic mental health within the UFS community and address wellness concerns effectively. This mission is pursued through individual therapy sessions, group sessions, workshops, developmental programmes, and career counselling. The department also plays a pivotal role in knowledge production, evidence-based interventions, and mental health innovations, contributing significantly to students’ mental wellbeing.

Academic wellbeing 

To coincide with the exam season and World Mental Health Awareness Month in October, SCD offers academic-wellbeing resources tailored to students to help them become ‘Wellbeing Warriors’. These resources include guides such as 'Taming Test and Exam Anxiety’, 'I Don't Know How to Study’, and 'Where Is My Time Going?'. These resources are designed to equip students with the tools they need to manage the stress and anxiety that often accompany exams.

Taming Test and Exam Anxiety

According to Nadia Maloney, Senior Counselling Psychologist and Acting Assistant Director of SCD, “Common test anxiety symptoms include heart palpitations, sweaty palms, difficulty breathing, feeling overwhelmed, irritability, fatigue, and sleeping difficulties. We’re probably in agreement that experiencing any of these symptoms is highly uncomfortable, not conducive to an ideal learning environment, and can affect your exam outcome.”

The 'Taming Test and Exam Anxiety' guide, compiled by Maloney, emphasises the importance of mitigating these symptoms to create an ideal learning environment in order to achieve better exam outcomes.

I Don't Know How to Study

For those who find themselves struggling with study methods, Lize van den Bergh, a Senior Counselling Psychologist, has created the 'I Don't Know How to Study' guide, which underscores the significance of adapting to the university's unique challenges early on, offering valuable tips and techniques to enhance study skills.

Where Is My Time Going?

The 'Where Is My Time Going?' guide, also crafted by Van den Bergh, tackles the issue of time management. It offers practical advice for students who often feel that time is slipping through their fingers due to various commitments and responsibilities. “Study methods consist of many important behaviours and techniques. Because university is different to school, the sooner you learn how to adapt to these changes, the better you will manage,” Van den Bergh said.

As stress and anxiety levels peak around exam time, the importance of studying smart, not just hard, cannot be stressed enough. Students looking for further assistance can reach out to the SCD Office via the provided contact details:

+27 51 401 2853 / SCD@ufs.ac.za (Bloemfontein Campus)
+27 51 505 1989 / SCDSouth@ufs.ac.za (South Campus) 
+27 58 718 5125 / SCDQQ@ufs.ac.za (Qwaqwa Campus)
+27 800 00 6363 / 24/7 Toll-free UFS Student Careline 

News Archive

UFS launches a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Observatory, first of its kind in South Africa
2013-12-04

In cooperation with its partners, the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State (UFS), launched the SME Observatory at a function on the Bloemfontein Campus. This initiative is the first of its kind in South Africa. 
 
According to Willem Ellis, Director of the Centre for Development Support, this is a public-private partnership between the UFS, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (detea), which aims to gather information for research on small and medium enterprises. “With this research we will endeavour to empower policy formulators to make the right decisions in terms of development on a local, provincial and national level,” Ellis said. 
 
Presentations and the panel discussion at the launch covered topics such as: 
  • How many enterprises can survive in a town?
  • Are entrepreneurs being set up for failure? 
  • Is SMEs the answer to the unemployment question? 
  • The cost of red tape: is SMEs being tied down? 

To demonstrate the applicability of the enterprise architect for issues relating to enterprise policy, as well as entrepreneurship strategies, it was decided to focus the pilot phase of the observatory on towns in the Free State. Dr Daan Toerien, research associate at the Centre for Development Support, and Johannes Wessels, Project Manager of the SME Observatory, compiled the report: “50 Towns in the Free State: What the Enterprise Architecture of these towns is telling us about Entrepreneurial Space.” 
 
In his presentation at the launch, Dr Toerien said: “The Enterprise Observatory’s prime goal is to present valuable facts and insights about enterprises in the domains it is observing.” He has developed a database that contains information on a large number of South African towns. He said that studying the enterprise architecture of towns will contribute significantly to inform the policy and strategy debate on LED and enterprise development. “These activities will add valuable data and insights to approach entrepreneurship in the Free State and, after the pilot phase, also in other provinces in South Africa. The Free State government, district and local municipalities, and the consultant fraternity serving them, should find the SME observatory’s activities of value,” he said. 
 
Wessels said that the SME Observatory of South Africa is dedicated to base its arguments on sound theory, science and applied research; to engage policy and decision makers on an evidence-based approach; operate in a politically non-aligned mode in order to mirror truthfully the impact of policies and decisions and to partner with policy makers, entrepreneurs, public administration, think tanks, research institutions, business representatives and NGOs on building networks and alliances to promote an open and competitive enterprise environment.

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