You can count on us UP Accounting develops an innovative student support programme to help future chartered accountants become #FITForLife.
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s the country continues to grapple with funding issues in higher education, the University of Pretoria (UP)’s Accounting programme has developed an innovative student support programme called FIT. The programme involves the synergy of three funding and bursary programmes – FASSET Bursary Scheme, Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP) and the Thuthuka Bursary Fund (hence the acronym FIT). The structure of the financial support provided by the funders differs slightly between these programmes, but they all include tuition fees, textbooks, accommodation, food, pocket money and wrap-around support. According to Aneesa Carrim, Senior Lecturer and FIT Programme Coordinator: “The vision of the FIT team is to establish and maintain a reliable, approachable and exemplary support system for FIT students; thereby being a positive catalyst for these students to achieve academic success and become ‘FIT-for-life’. This effectively also means that we want to produce UP alumni who are well-rounded individuals,
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and employees who can function independently and effectively in the workplace.” She adds that these programmes have chosen to work together and pool resources in order to optimise their reach. “We use the strengths of each team member to have a maximum support impact on our students. The FIT team is managed by four programme managers and is supported by an administrator and academic trainees.”
While previous UP support programmes provided students with several additional academic interventions, 2017 marked a change in approach, sparked by the FIT vision and values, together with an acknowledgement that UP’s core offerings were more than sufficient to ensure students’ academic success. Instead, students required wrap-around (psychosocial) support. As part of this wrap-around support, the FIT team now offers essential life skills sessions, which students on the programme are expected to attend regularly. These include:
The “7 Habits of Highly Effective Students” training The 7 Habits course is one of the foundational pillars of support at UP. “It has been a game-changer for our students,” says Carrim. “Students receive their own 7 Habits textbook/
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