Campus announcements
Financial aid for 2018 and other updates
09 February 2018 | Campus AnnouncementDear students and colleagues
This campus announcement aims to inform members of the University of Cape Town community about:
1. Financial aid for 2018 and appeals for assistance regarding fees debt from 2017
In a recent VC Desk, Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price outlined the various mechanisms that have been put in place by the university to address student funding for 2018. This includes an overview of the provisions from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), as well as a response to President Jacob Zuma’s announcement on free higher education. Other issues include government funding to cover 2018 fee increases and student appeals for funding in 2018, whether due to debt or poor academic performance.
2. Cape Town water crisis
Cape Town is currently facing the worst drought in over a century and the city stands a very real risk of running out of water by mid-May. On Day Zero the taps will be turned off and Cape Town residents will have to queue for a daily allocation of water at distribution points across the city. The prospect of such a day, should it arrive, is alarming, but it can and must be avoided. The UCT community must be part of the solution by reducing its water use by 50%. This is only possible with everyone’s individual efforts to save water.
Staff and students who have questions, comments or suggestions on water issues are asked to direct these to the newly established Water Desk.
3. Future Water talk invitation
Dr Kevin Winter, from UCT’s Future Water institute, will be presenting an open lecture titled “Cape Town’s water crisis before Day Zero” on Monday, 12 February 2018. The event will take place from 13:00 to 14:00 in the New Lecture Theatre on upper campus. All are welcome to attend.
4. Walk-in admissions
Many institutions nationally have experienced walk-in admissions and, to date, UCT has received very few requests for late admissions. We expect that during registration over the next two weeks there is likely to be an increase in such requests, and measures have been taken to cope with any existing demand. Prospective applicants seeking late consideration must be directed to the Admissions Office in the Masingene Building on middle campus. No such requests should be directed to a faculty office or registration location.
Late applicants will be asked to follow a two-stage process. First, the applicant will be helped by UCT staff, who will discuss with them the admission criteria and the Central Applications Clearing House (CACH) process. Thereafter, the applicant will be assisted in a computer laboratory to register with the CACH. Where capacity exists at UCT, and a faculty wishes to consider additional offers, such applicants will be considered in conjunction with others who may have met the minimum requirements, but not been competitive enough for an offer of admission.
5. Announcement of IRTC commissioners
The Institutional Reconciliation and Transformation Commission (IRTC) has been established. The choice of commissioners received the full and unanimous support of the IRTC Steering Committee, which finalised its recommendation to Council on 8 December 2017. Council has given its full support to all the appointed commissioners.
6. Campus Life
The 2018 edition of Campus Life has been issued. It is an indispensable guide for all first-time students on campus, packed with information about studies and life at UCT.
7. Collaborative Educational Practice Awards
The Collaborative Educational Practice (CEP) Awards recognise excellent collaborative approaches to enhance the teaching and learning environment at UCT. The 2017 awards were made for work conducted by very large interdisciplinary and cross-departmental teams that showcase the reach enabled by sound collaborative educational practice.
8. UCT’s professional conference organising unit
Are you aware that UCT has its very own professional conference organising unit?
The Conference Management Centre (CMC) has been organising conferences for local and international clients for more than 25 years and boasts a dedicated and hardworking team with over 50 years of collective experience.
The CMC is a self-funded unit within the Commercial Development Department, and is headed up by Mr Fawaz Mustapha. The team’s dedicated conference organisers work to deliver conferences that run smoothly and turn a profit for your department or association. Every effort goes into managing the logistics and planning of the event, ensuring that you and/or the conference committee can focus on the programme.
When the Finance Department established the Commercial Development Department in October 2015, the CMC was immediately identified as a key third-stream income generator for the university. Profits from the unit are reinvested back into UCT, making it possible to provide more financial aid to students, build and maintain new lecture theatres and UCT grounds, upskill our insourced workers, and much more.
In these times of austerity when budgets are tight, we need to ensure that funds remain in the university. We would like to encourage all departments and staff who organise conferences or workshops, no matter the size, to consider contacting the CMC first to see how they can assist you.
Communication and Marketing Department
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