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07 March 2024
Photo Lunga Luthuli
Prof Francois Strydom, Senior Director at the Centre for Teaching and Learning and Simphiwe Kunene, the first African DREAM scholar and a master’s student from the Faculty of Education.
The University of the Free State (UFS) received recognition for its commitment to student success at the 2024 Achieving the Dream (ATD) conference which celebrated its 20-year anniversary. Simphiwe Kunene, an Education master's student originally from the Qwaqwa campus, was selected to represent South Africa as the first DREAM scholar from Africa as part of the conference.
The Achieving the Dream network of over 300 institutions, which is one of the largest movements in US higher education aims to transform colleges and universities so that students of colour and a lower socio-economic status are supported to earn a degree. The UFS is a leading partner in the Siyaphumelela Network, which has been working for 10 years with ATD to enhance the success of students in South Africa. Prof Francois Strydom, Senior Director at the Centre of Teaching and Learning (CTL), accepted the award on behalf of the institution.
Prof Strydom said that collaboration with the ATD and Siyaphumelela institutions has helped the UFS to develop cutting-edge approaches to “level the playing field” and support Kovsies to earn their undergraduate degrees.
The first African DREAM scholar
Kunene was selected as the first African DREAM scholar from the Siyaphumelela network. To select the DREAM scholar, each Siyaphumelela partner institution nominated one student as a preferred candidate. From the proposed candidates, the DREAM scholar was selected by the South African Institute for Distance Education (Saide) based on the following: demonstrating resilience, academic excellence, and a deep commitment to making a positive difference in universities and personal communities.
He addressed the conference of over 2 000 delegates and shared with them his hopes and dreams. Many members of the South African delegation said Simphiwe did his country proud. He had the following to say about his opportunity to be a DREAM scholar: “Being a DREAM scholar was life changing for me, exposing me to an array of opportunities I never knew were possible and available for me. It was as if, for a moment, the world had stopped to just listen to what I had to say."
The way forward
The UFS will continue its work as a partner of the Siyaphumelela network for the 2024-2026 cycle. The multi-stakeholder project team is focused on enhancing undergraduate students’ time, and to position the UFS as a thought and research leader in the area of student success as part of Vision 130.
UFS provides support network in each faculty
2016-10-28
Photo: iStock
Faculties at the University of the Free State (UFS) have been affected differently by the interruption of teaching time over the past few weeks.
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. The Faculty of Health Sciences, for instance, cannot do teaching through alternative modes of delivery.
According to their needs, each faculty has prepared all the necessary learning material and instructions to support student learning. The standard and quality will be the same as if students have been attending classes. Some faculties require practical laboratory work as part of their curriculum and the necessary arrangements and adjustments have been made per department/faculty.
Constantly check official platforms
In order to assist with successfully completing the 2016 academic year, the UFS has launched the Academic Reboot Pack 2.0. It provides information around the carefully-crafted UFS academic rescue strategy and how to go about completing your work.
It is paramount to constantly check your faculty’s Blackboard organisation, the university’s main page, and your ufs4life emails to stay informed with emerging information regarding the state of the campus.
Faculties communicate work directly
Faculties at the UFS will communicate all outstanding academic work directly to the students registered in the faculty. For this, the university has created a UFS Support Network. Students should not hesitate to email or call if they need support.
Important contacts:
Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
Faculty Manager: Lizette Pretorius (LPretorius@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 2173)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Dr Corlia Janse van Vuuren (JanseVanVuurenEC@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 3691)
Faculty of Education
Faculty Manager: Charmell Cardoso (CardosoC@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 9264)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Prof Adri Beylefeld (BeylefeldAA@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 3125)
Faculty of Law
Faculty Manager: Adri Kotze (Kotzea@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 2735)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Dr Manie Moolman (MoolmanHJ@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 7084)
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Faculty Manager: Lee-Ann Frazenburg (DamonsLE@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 3199)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Elzmarie Oosthuizen (OosthuizenEM@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 2934)
Faculty of the Humanities
Faculty Manager: Marica Coetsee (coetseem@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 2369)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Jackie Storer (storerja@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 9579)
Faculty of Theology
Faculty Manager: Ingrid Mostert (MosterIE@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 9079)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Dr Thomas Resane (ResaneKT@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 9331)
Get your copy of the Academic Reboot Pack 2.0 on Blackboard under announcements or click here to download it.
The Academic Reboot Pack 1.0 is also available for you.
If students have any question or queries regarding the Academic Reboot Pack, they can send an email to: advising@ufs.ac.za