Teaching and Learning in an Age of Choice
In an age of overwhelming choice, UP continues to attract top students and staff in great numbers, and to produce quality graduates who contribute to the knowledge economy. The primary reason is UP’s culture of 100% commitment to excellence and quality across all fields of study. Our policies of access, inclusion and transformation have attracted a diversity of top students. The most recent statistics released by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) confirm that UP remains one of the largest producers of graduates in a wide range of fields, which include identified scarce skills such as engineering, financial sciences and health sciences. We produce all of the country’s veterinarians, almost a third of all engineers (28,4%) and just under 15% of all doctors. Our committed academics have multiple approaches to teaching to ensure that students with a variety of learning strengths succeed and graduate in the minimum time set out for a degree. Our degrees are locally accredited and internationally recognised. We have agreements in place with the relevant legal accreditation bodies around the world.
We have contact sessions in traditional lectures, seminars, laboratories and practical sites, together with the experience gained by more than 20 years of using online learning platforms. This has enabled access and success for an increasing number of students.
Teaching and learning approach Our teaching and learning approach is based on inquiry-based learning, hybrid learning and community-based learning. Our students are encouraged to seek out additional resources and videos to supplement their classes and to use their knowledge in a practical way through engagement in the communities neighbouring our campuses. Additional academic development facilities are offered to our first-year students, including tutoring, mentoring and advisory services, to orientate them to the range of support services available at UP to help them achieve. We believe in developing well-rounded graduates, and our students have access to a range of extramural activities, including sports, arts and culture.
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