In order for student partnerships to be successful, South African universities have to embark on listening campaigns, opening up dialogue with students on curriculum reform to reflect linguistic diversity.

This view was shared by an English Studies expert during this week’s Student Learning/Student Feedback Symposium hosted by Fundani’s Student Learning Unit on the Bellville Campus.

Dr Thulani Mkhize, a Senior Lecturer in English Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, who delivered the keynote address under the title, The role of a university in creating and promoting student partnerships.

Mkhize said that due to the increased number of African students who entered universities after 1994, the South African higher education landscape is characterised by unprecedented linguistic and cultural diversity. In contrast, English and Afrikaans were the dominant languages and cultures in the country’s tertiary institutions to the negation of the indigenous language.

“Yet, when one looks at the demographics of the South African university student population, these linguistic and cultural practices can be quite alienating for the majority of students,” she argued. “Thus, it becomes clear to black students entering universities previously designed for white students, that they are entering a space not made with them in mind, even well after democracy.”

She observed that although the nation had been politically decolonised, many of its institutions remain systematically unchanged to reflect a multicultural and multilingual society that “honours the linguistic and cultural rights of all its people; hence the 2015 #FeesMustFall and #RhodesMustFall movements”.

She concluded that student partnerships with African students at the forefront was a prerequisite for “teaching and learning to take place from an African context as a point of departure”.

Fundani’s Director, Prof Monwabisi Ralarala, said that while student feedback was important to consider during the symposium, lecturers’ feedback was equally important too.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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The second CPUT Language Indaba this year brought together academics as well as Language Rights and Translation practitioners to interrogate the university’s language policy.

Held on the Bellville Campus yesterday, the indaba was organized by the Language Working Group in collaboration with Fundani’s Language Unit under the title, The Language Question at CPUT: Marginalisation or Empowerment?

Prof Ken Barris from the Engineering Department, discussed the process followed to develop the university’s Language Policy, what its implementation has achieved and the road map of what has yet to happen.  

Delivering the keynote address, Prof Pamela Maseko from the Rhodes University’s School of African Languages, said the language problem affects all those living in South Africa.

“While there have been some institutions that have pioneered with teaching, learning and research practices that embrace African Languages others continue to ignore their relevance in higher education,” said Maseko.

She argued that monolingualism at national universities flies in the face of statutory language policies which recognize the importance of both individual and societal multilingualism.

Dr Nina Du Toit, former Head of CPUT’s Disability Unit, discussed how lecturers can support students with disabilities concerning learning, language and speech so that they perform at their optimal best.

Dr Nomfundo Mali, Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) provincial manager, discussed pieces of legislation that guarantee language rights to individuals and the government’s role in developing those languages.

Dr Sebolelo Mokapela from Parliament’s Language Services Section, Western Cape Language Services’ Xolisa Tshongolo and CPUT’s Thembinkosi Mtonjeni (Student Learning Unit) reflected on the translation practices in their institutions.  

The Indaba, which was supported by PanSALB, was attended by language specialists, curriculum officers, students and academics.  

Written by Kwanele Butana
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Adapting to university life can be stressful, however, first year students can look forward to a special programme put in place to ensure they achieve maximum success.

The First Year Experience (FYE), an initiative of the Student Learning Unit, aims to improve student retention and success rates by managing the transition from school to university.

The FYE is a series of videos, presentations and workshops on soft skills like goal setting, note taking and even financial planning.

Below is the welcome video by FYE Co-ordinator, Dr Nosisana Mkonto.

View more videos at: http://www.cput.ac.za/students/about/first-years

Other services offered by the Student Learning Unit include the training of mentors and tutors who are identified by lecturers to assist in a variety of student experiences like settling into residences and Mathematics support.

The unit also runs workshops on a variety of topics such as academic literacy and topic analysis.

The unit is open between 8am to 4pm and is located in the E-Learning Centre, Lab 2, in Cape Town and in the IT centre in Bellville.

Students can book appointments with the Student Learning Administrative Assistants:

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Cape Town campus and nearer satellite campuses) or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Bellville campus and nearer satellite campuses)

Written by Kwanele Butana
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The Student Learning Unit’s (SLU) new online booking system, through which students will be able to book appointments for virtual and face-to-face consultations, will be launched on 28 July.

The WConline booking system enables students to make appointments with tutors, teaching assistants, lecturers and learning support services.

“WConline supports CPUT’s Vision 2030 and will improve the management of appointments, recordkeeping and analytics of student support. It will allow students to access and get student support during the national lockdown – supporting CPUT’s Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL) guidelines,” said the SLU’s Frikkie George.

The system will continue to benefit students after the national lockdown.

Students will also be able to use the system to:   

• Upload assignments to be discussed during consultations.
• Have consultations on the WConline platform.
• Provide feedback on the consultations. 

Tutors, teaching assistants, lecturers and learning support services will be able to:

• Respond immediately to appointments made.
• Conduct consultations on the WConline platform.
• Send messages/ notices to students via email, WhatsApp and Twitter.
• Generate various reports (analytics) about the students’ use and the consultations. 

The scheduling and management of WConline are currently centrally managed by Fundani Student Learning Unit (SLU).

The Student Learning Unit invites the CPUT community to attend and participate in the launch of the new booking system.

Details are as follow:

Date: Wednesday, 28 July 2021

Time: 10:30 - 12:30

To RSVP to attend the launch, please go to: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSftuJAeGauc4iq_cRg9U8Xyz9dT2lI6dh2jK5_vgqHQtHGKNQ/viewform

On the day of the event, attendees may log on at:

https://ca.bbcollab.com/collab/ui/session/guest/3e0e65f5211d4b8287cf9c0c57fb89f2

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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