GEORGE NEWS - The Nelson Mandela University George Campus will be hosting an online welcome event this evening, Friday 5 March, for all its first-year students.
Both the George and Gqeherha (Port Elizabeth) campuses have a series of virtual welcomes for new students and their families this week, ending tomorrow, Saturday 6 March.
George Campus spokesperson Milisa Piko says the switch from the traditional on-campus event to online sessions for as many as 6 000 first-year students on both its campuses is in keeping with the Covid-19 safety protocols.
The university decided to host these information-sharing sessions first, in order to guide and reassure parents about the study journey ahead, given the many concerns emerging as a result of the pandemic.
Also, says Piko, the online registration is not new to Mandela University. “With the majority of its 29 000 students already using virtual platforms for learning and teaching, various supporting mechanisms have also been put in place to assist first-year students, in particular, with registration.”
Virtual tutorials, easy access to academic administrative staff working remotely and other special arrangements to help those without access to a device (laptop or smartphone) or the internet, are in place to effect registration.
Registration will continue until 5 April, but as the academic year starts on 15 March, all students are urged to register soonest, with the requisite down-payments or NSFAS / bursary proof.
“In a bid to speed up processes and enable students waiting on the reserve lists, to be afforded the opportunity of studying at Mandela University, first-years have been given five working days to confirm their acceptance offer,” says Piko.
The George Campus webinar tonight precedes the official institutional welcome by Nelson Mandela University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sibongile Muthwa, at 09:00 tomorrow, Saturday 6 March.
The university’s orientation programme will also be conducted virtually, starting on Monday 8 March.
REGISTRATION SUPPORT
A full break-down on all registration-related information can be accessed here.
Students can register from anywhere by logging on to the Student Portal or the Nelson Mandela University website. Information regarding student cards, permits, parking discs and the like is available on these platforms. To access this and other zero-rated sites, students do not require any mobile data.
Admitted first-year students who require assistance with module selection will be invited to virtual registration sessions for their respective programmes in terms of the dates listed in the First Year Registration Guide.
Contact details are also available in the First Year Registration Guide.
No late applications
As guided by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the university does not accep any new late applications or “walk-ins”. Those who did not apply on time and are seeking university placement are advised to use DHET’s Central Application Clearing House (CACH).
Late registration
The registration process will continue until 16 April, but students registering after 5 April will be subjected to a late registration fee.
Late NSFAS funding: Access for unregistered students
The university is also endeavouring to manage the challenges of the late allocation of NSFAS funding to qualifying students who are unable to register.
These students have been considered and will still be given access to the university information resources, through services such as e-mail, access to the LMS (Moodle), MS Teams, and so forth, so that they may continue to study remotely until such time as they are able to register.
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