Page 23 - UniZulu Annual Report 2020

Over its 60 years of existence, UNIZULU has shown the ability to adapt to change and to transform itself to stay relevant and responsive. Currently, the University is at an important juncture on its journey, and it must consider several issues in mapping its way forward as it was celebrating this milestone. Webinars are aimed to be a highly-intensive space of knowledge sharing and these initiatives are not merely responding to broad shifts and changes in the external and particularly the educational environment based on the COVID-19 challenges, but more importantly, are forward- looking thrusts to support UNIZULU in its transformation into a high-performance university as envisaged in the Strategic Plan 2016-2021. In total, 25 webinars took place during the year under review, covering topics such as ‘COVID-19 pandemic-preparedness as a service delivery imperative’; ‘Diversity and Inclusion’; ‘GenderTransformation in Higher Education’; and ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Implications for Educational Practice’.
Media coverage is important for attracting new students and customers and for creating brand recognition. The right coverage can generate interest from critical stakeholders, attract new talent to the UNIZULU workforce, and help UNIZULU build a reputation as a thought leader in higher education. The University received consistent, positive media coverage during the year under review. This can be attributed to aggressive publicity activities being introduced. The University has a standing advertorial in the Mercury every month and the University stories are guaranteed publishing in the Daily News, The Star and Cape Argus. Media monitoring is conducted daily and UNIZULU subscribed to the electronic alert monitoring to respond timeously to all enquiries (positive and negative) to ensure continuous reputational management. Various online platforms were used to ensure effective stakeholder communication and included expert opinion pieces, featured notices, publications, and stories. UNIZULU also established a new alumni website as part of its responsibility to foster excellent alumni relations and build and strengthen relationships between the University and its community, graduates, friends, students and donors. The alumni website provides all stakeholders with an opportunity to get involved in giving back to the University and update their profiles as required.
STUDENT SERVICES
The purposes of the Student Services Department at UNIZULU may be summarised as follows:
• To ensure that students receive opportunities for
academic development so that they may complete their programmes with minimum challenges
• To increase student retention and success by providing a supportive environment
• To seek to effectively and efficiently provide the integrated services that are aimed at creating a student- centred environment underpinned by safety, good health, wellness and good citizenry
Programmes offered at UNIZULU strive to equip students to contribute to the development of society at large. Students are encouraged to engage and participate in activities that will enhance their life perspective and help them acquire skills other than academic ones. Like many other college and university mission statements, the mission of the University contains commitments towards the development of students for professional and community responsibilities in a global context. The thrust of leadership development at the Institution focuses on students in elected positions such as the SRC, leaders of the various student organisations, as well as general students to acquire leadership competencies as a graduate attribute. When students enrol in academic societies that appeal to them or that are related to their extra-curricular interests, their world experience becomes broader, and it triggers in them various ways of viewing life and participation in societal activities. In other words, the University, through Student Governance, seeks to ensure that its graduates are ready to create a better society and make a difference wherever they go. There are about 85 societies affiliated with the SRC, ranging from religious to academic, extra-curricular to political. A full report on Student Services is provided in the Report of the Vice-Chancellor as this report provides only a brief overview of student services during the year under review.
Student Residences
As a rural-based institution, the University strives to provide as much accommodation as possible. In 2020, there were 5 907-bed spaces in both university campuses as well as outsourced residences. There were 4 315 bed spaces on campus and 1 592 bed spaces in off-campus residences. A self-service module was developed and implemented through the ITS i-enabler to enable students to apply and make residence bookings. Full-scale residence inspections were conducted and reports submitted to the Planning and Maintenance Department. The University also advertised for an expression of interest from accommodation service providers. A process of negotiations and inspections commenced for proposed new outsourced residence spaces for the 2021 academic year. A total number of 87 students with different abilities were allocated student housing.
UNIZULU implemented COVID-19-compliant residential
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UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND ANNUAL REPORT 2020