Upskill. Stay current. Read. And, most importantly, start seeing yourself as a professional practitioner whose multi-disciplinary expertise makes you as much a scholar as any academic at the university where you work.
That was what Professor Matete Madiba (left), University of the Western Cape (UWC) Deputy Vice Chancellor: Student Development and Support – told Student Affairs, Student Development and Student Support services professionals at the inaugural workshop that began a six-month capacity development programme in Gauteng on Monday. Professor Madiba is also a national executive committee member at the SA Association of Senior Student Affairs Professionals (SAASSAP), serving as the Research and Development Office.
The Student Affairs and Student Success (SASS) programme is a direct response to a national Training Needs Assessment (TNA) survey that the Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) programme carried out among student support professionals at South Africa’s 26 public institutions in November 2021. HELM is Universities South Africa’s (USAf’s) programme mainly funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training.