From: UFS News / UV-Nuus
Sent: 14 October 2016 07:06 PM
Subject: State of our campuses #16: Strategy for completion of the 2016 academic year/Stand van ons kampusse #16: Strategie vir voltooiing van die 2016 akademiese jaar
Dear Staff Member
The University of the Free State’s (UFS) will offer no teaching and learning activities at undergraduate and honors level between 17 October and 28 October 2016.
The university will re-start teaching and learning at undergraduate and honors level in the first week of November 2016. However, teaching and learning will not take place in the classrooms during November 2016, but through a different mode of delivery that consists of a combination of printed and recorded lectures, study materials and learning aids that will be provided by the university and delivered through BlackBoard. In this manner no attempts at disrupting the rest of the academic year will affect our students’ academic programme. Students, however, will sit for the exam on campus.
Students in residence accommodation can return to campus as from 29 October 2016 and it is recommended that students who do not have off-campus internet access return to campus in order to access study material to complete the academic year. A new time-table for exams is still being developed and will be communicated as soon as the arrangements have been finalised.
Faculties have been differently affected by the loss of teaching time. 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. Some faculties, like the Faculty of Health Sciences cannot do teaching through alternative modes of delivery.
The needs of the different faculties have been taken into account for developing a rescue plan to complete the 2016 academic year.
The Faculty of Health Sciences will continue its classes and clinical rotations as normal for all three schools on the Bloemfontein Campus and in the relevant hospitals. All students registered in programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences will stay in residences for the full period of their studies and exams. Final year medical students will graduate in December 2016 as expected. A detailed communication to Health Sciences students will be sent from the office of the Dean.
In the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences final year students in the Certificate in the Theory of Accounting (CTA) will stay on campus during October through to December 2016 and their classes and tests will not change.
Arrangements for all other faculties and programmes are being prepared and within the next week students and parents/guardians will receive communication about how curriculum content will be completed and when the final exams will take place.
The university is extending the academic year so that we recuperate all the lost teaching and learning time. The qualifications confer to the 2016 class will be of the same quality and standards as all UFS qualifications.

The UFS is and will remain to be a fundamentally contact teaching and learning education university. However, under the current circumstances faced not only by the UFS, but higher education institutions across the country, the best way of ensuring the integrity of the academic programmes in most faculties is by using an alternative way of teaching and learning. Other South African universities have chosen the same approach to be able to complete the academic year.
Instead of students going to class they will have content delivered to them where they are (library, computer labs, their own computers, etc.) through BlackBoard and printed and electronic material. This is a different way of learning but students will be carefully guided and supported.
Faculties are currently preparing all the necessary materials and instructions to support student learning. Standards and quality will be the same as if students were attending classes. Some faculties require practical laboratory work as part of their curriculum. The exam time-table will be adapted for these students to be able to complete their practical work when the academic activities commences in November 2016. The relevant faculties will communicate the schedule of practical work directly to the students.
Students in their final year will complete their studies during 2016. It is possible that in some cases the graduation ceremony for these students will be in June 2017 instead of April 2017. This will not prejudice students with bursaries, or committed employment in law firms or other businesses. The university will provide the necessary academic transcripts as proof of the completions of the relevant qualifications. None of these changes will affect postgraduate students.
The university will maintain regular communication with students and parents/guardians to update them on the new exams time-table. Faculties will communicate directly with students about issues related to their programmes.
Staff members are asked not to give credence to rumours in the social media and other spaces. The only official information about the UFS is on its website at www.ufs.ac.za and other official communication platforms such as the university’s Facebook and Twitter pages, the [email protected] emails, and the Newsflash.
Please note that the arrangements shared in this message are applicable to students on the Bloemfontein and South Campuses.
Academic staff will receive support materials and communication regarding adjustments to teaching and learning from faculty teaching and learning managers.
Your understanding and patience during this trying time is much appreciated.