The State of Disaster and the national lockdown declared by President Cyril Ramaphosa means that as a university, we need to do all that we can to combat the spread of Covid-19 while also endeavouring to ensure that teaching and learning continues under somewhat difficult circumstances. With the lockdown, we have to make certain changes to the way we are doing things.
For the period of the lockdown, all Unisa services to students will be online.
Although the arrangements we have made are challenging for us all, you are fortunate that as an open distance learning student, Unisa is still operational. Please note, however, that we will be fully online during the lockdown period.
Most Unisa students have now received their study material and are able to access their teaching and learning material online.
If you have not yet received your hard copy study material, please go to myUnisa and download it as soon as possible to prepare for future assessments. Those of you who have recently written a supplementary exam or who registered for a postgraduate qualification, will be able to access your study material online as soon as your registration is finalised.
Due to the lockdown, Unisa will not distribute study material with effect from Friday 27 March 2020 until the lockdown is lifted.
The closing date for first assignments has been moved to 24 April 2020. Second assignments are due on 8 May 2020.
Please note: This extension excludes modules with continuous assessment, online assessment and where the summative assessment is a portfolio.
Submitting via myUnisa is fast and reliable. It’s also the easiest method. Simply follow the instructions onscreen. We recommend that you submit assignments via myUnisa, if at all possible, and not via the post or courier.
a) If you have a computer and internet access
If you have typed your assignment, save the document in PDF format. You can now submit your assignment via myUnisa.
b) If you have a smart phone
You can use a smart phone to submit handwritten assignments. Download a scanner app (many of them are available free of charge), and use your smart phone to scan the completed assignment cover page and all the assignment pages. Then upload these.
You can also submit multiple-choice assignments on myUnisa or via an Android Smart phone by downloading the Unisa MCQ app from an online store. For more information on how to access the app, click here
Login to myUnisa, click on "myAdmin", "Assessment Admin" and then on "Assignment Submission". Choose the module and the specific assignment you want to submit. Remember to click "Submit" once you have finished uploading your assignment.
Please note: You will only be able to access myUnisa once you are fully registered (ie your registration has been finalised). If your registration is still temporary, you will not be able to access myUnisa. Please click here for a step-by-step guide on how to access myUnisa.
We are working with the NSRC and the Department of Health to find a safe, fair and feasible arrangement to deal with the May/June 2020 examinations and will send a follow-up communication soon. As you are all aware, we are reliant on the instructions we receive from the President, now the Commander in Chief, who will make a determination on the status and the progression of the pandemic. We will therefore provide you will further feedback on the situation regarding the first semester examinations.
Some lecturers have diverted their office phones through to their private phones and might still be reached by phone. We appeal to students to only phone during office hours if needed. Use e-mail where possible to contact Unisa staff.
Due to the lockdown, many graduation ceremonies have been cancelled. If you missed your graduation ceremony, you will receive your certificate via courier after the lockdown has been lifted. We will, however, still give those students who would like to attend a graduation ceremony an opportunity to attend one once the pandemic has subsided. We will communicate with students once we have more information of the impact of the pandemic.
Unisa will send all applicants feedback on the status of their applications by the end of June 2020.
Payment allocations will continue as bank statements will be loaded on a daily basis. Students are advised to reference their payments as indicated on the Unisa payment website to ensure that their fees are allocated automatically: www.unisa.ac.za/paymentinfo
For payments queries, students are advised to send an e-mail to susdepid@unisa.ac.za. This mailbox will be monitored on a daily basis until 31 March 2020.
Procceses are in place to ensure that allowances are disbursed during the lockout. We will be updating you on this matter.
The Library will continue to answer their phones.
Students, academics, researchers and special members are strongly advised to access the Library online via myUnisa, the website and the Library app. All books must be renewed online on the Library website.
Personal Librarian services for postgraduate students/academics may still be provided via the following platforms: Teams, Skype, Zoom and webinars.
Unisa is in the process of activating additional functions on LibGuides such as LiveChat to provide students with more avenues to keep in touch with the Library.
We hope this pandemic will be controlled and managed soon. We are monitoring the situation and will amend our plans accordingly and keep you updated.
We wish all Unisa students, their families and the entire Unisa community health and safety as we jointly fight this global pandemic.
Unisa management
Publish date: 2020-03-27 00:00:00.0