The UMP delegation, which included the Dean of Students, Dr Paul Maminza, spent most of the days locked in meetings and presentations between the deans and the students of the two universities to explore opportunities and exchange ideas around optimizing student relations.
The Western Sydney University is a leading institution that has 27 colleges with 129 undergraduate and 101 postgraduate programmes, as well as international students from around 70 different countries.
“A total of nine presentations were made by staff from WSU on the different areas of responsibility on student support services. These included, among others, student welfare services; counselling and disability services; Western success advisors; peer programmes; student housing; events and sporting teams; and school-based student support,” explained Dr Maminza.
Outgoing SRC President, Bathini Madinawe, said the visit was a benchmark on how other SRCs and universities are operating on student related matters, while experiencing Australia’s culture and diversity.
“What stood out for me was that the university had lot of student programmes for new students in the university, and some of these included checking all students through social media just to get to know them better,” continued Madinawe.
“WSU uses the information gathered from social media to get to understand students’ issues and challenges and finds ways of resolving them. This, according to the university, eliminates the number of students deregistering from the institution.”
SRC Social and Transformation Officer, Thandi Mafu, said the visit was an eye-opening experience, especially regarding issues of mental health, societal issues, health issues and student issues. “Looking at some of their programmes, there are a few things we can learn from them, but it was also an affirmation that UMP is on the right track, even as a developing university.”
“They also have a peer programme, which we at UMP have as well, that works with other students to understand the content of their subjects and develop various study strategies to help you improve your academic performance,” she said.
Dr Maminza concluded: “Our students have learnt a lot from this visit."
@ Story by UMP Student Affairs Division. Picture supplied.