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21 November 2024
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Story Jacky Tshokwe
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Photo Supplied
Prof Mogomme Masoga, Dean: Faculty of the Humanities.
On 8 November 2024, the South African Humanities Deans Association (SAHUDA) elected Prof Mogomme Masoga, Dean of the Faculty of The Humanities at the University of the Free State (UFS), as its new President. This appointment marks a pivotal moment for SAHUDA, which represents a diverse network of deans who champion the prominence and future of humanities, social sciences, and the arts in South Africa and beyond. Prof Masoga, who has served as Vice-President of SAHUDA for the past year, brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to advocating for the role of humanities in addressing the challenges of our contemporary world.
As President, Prof Masoga envisions broadening the influence of what he terms ‘public and applied humanities.’ His aim is to advance a humanities framework that not only enriches academic discourse, but also engages with critical global and local issues. This approach, rooted in socially responsive scholarship, will prioritise areas such as computational and digital humanities, environmental humanities, and other interdisciplinary fields that intersect with the pressing concerns of our time.
“The humanities are more relevant than ever to understanding complex societal issues,” Prof Masoga explained. “Through public and applied humanities, we can bring the critical perspectives of our field into active dialogue with the challenges of a digital and ecologically threatened world.”
His election underscores the University of the Free State's growing influence in national and international conversations about the future of the humanities. For the UFS, this leadership role enhances its reputation as an institution deeply invested in fostering meaningful contributions to society. Prof Masoga’s presidency is set to amplify the university’s voice and perspectives in SAHUDA’s mission to fortify the role of humanities in education and public life.
Over the next two years, Prof Masoga’s tenure will include a focus on initiatives that strengthen the relevance of humanities scholarship, encourage interdisciplinary research, and cultivate public engagement. He will also prioritise fostering collaboration across higher education institutions in South Africa and internationally to ensure that humanities disciplines are equipped to address the diverse needs of our rapidly evolving world.
Prof Masoga’s commitment to SAHUDA’s mission reflects the values and aspirations of the UFS Faculty of The Humanities. His presidency is an invaluable opportunity for the university to contribute to the national agenda of reinforcing the humanities as a field essential to a healthy, critically informed, and culturally aware society. This achievement serves as a proud moment for the UFS and a beacon for the potential of the humanities to drive societal progress in South Africa and beyond.
A huge student turnout for NBT
2010-02-24
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Ms Babongile Bomela (seated, left) and Mr Riekie Vickers (seated, right) with some of the first-year students who wrote the NBT's. They both acted as invigilators for the tests.
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe |
More than 5 000 first-year students at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently wrote the National Benchmark Tests (NBT).
These tests are used to complement first-year students’ Grade 12 results and provide a profile of student competencies that the university can use to improve the quality of teaching and learning to enhance student success.
This was the first time that the UFS had made use of the NBTs, which were thoroughly piloted at several South African universities during 2009.
“A total of 5 449 students from the Main, South and Qwaqwa Campuses participated in this very ambitious testing process,” said Ms Merridy Wilson-Strydom from the Centre for Higher Education Studies and Development (CHESD) at the UFS.
“Altogether 7 687 test papers were completed. This is an excellent turn-out and highlights our students’ commitment to their studies.”
It was compulsory for all students (excluding those from the Faculty of Health Sciences) to write the Academic and Quantitative Literacy Test (AQL). Students from the Faculties of Economic and Management Sciences as well as Natural and Agricultural Sciences also wrote the Mathematics Tests.
“AQL targets students’ capacity to engage successfully with the demands of academic study in the medium of instruction, and the ability to manage situations or solve problems in a real context that is relevant to higher education study, using basic qualitative information that may be presented verbally, graphically, in tabular or symbolic form,” she explained.
“The Mathematics Test targets students’ ability with regard to mathematical concepts that are formally regarded as part of the school curriculum and tested in the Mathematics Examination Papers 1 and 2.”
The NBTs have been developed with inputs from over 300 academics from all the 23 universities in the country. They are available in English and Afrikaans.
Data integrity is quality-assured by the Assessment Systems Corporation in Michigan, USA, and further interrogated by the Education Testing Services in Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
The NBT results of UFS students will be available by the middle of March 2010. First-year students who do not perform at the required proficiency level in the academic literacy domain will be required to complete a language development module. This module is offered in both English and Afrikaans, depending on the chosen medium of instruction of the student.
Media Release:
Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za
2 March 2010