The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 students, including international students from 130 countries worldwide, making it one of the world's mega universities and the only such university in Africa. It is the only higher education institution to carry the name of the country. It is the first tertiary institution in Africa to own an airport.
As a comprehensive university, Unisa offers both vocational and academic programmes, many of which have received international accreditation. It also has an extensive geographical footprint, providing its students with recognition and employability in many countries around the world. The university lists many notable South Africans among its alumni, including two Nobel Prize winners: Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It is the first tertiary institution in Africa to own an airport.
Founded in 1873 as the University of the Cape of Good Hope, the University of South Africa (commonly known as Unisa) spent most of its early history as an examining agency for Oxford and Cambridge universities, and as an incubator from which most other universities in South Africa are descended. Legislation in 1916 established the autonomous University of South Africa (the same legislation also established Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town as autonomous universities) as an "umbrella" or federal institution, with its seat in Pretoria, playing an academic trusteeship role for several colleges that eventually became autonomous universities. The colleges that were under UNISA's trusteeship were Grey University College (Bloemfontein), Huguenot University College (Wellington), Natal University College (Pietermaritzburg), Rhodes University College (Grahamstown), Transvaal University College (Pretoria), the South African School of Mines and Technology (Johannesburg), and Potchefstroom University College. In 1959, with the passage of the Extension of University Education Act, UNISA's trusteeship also extended to the five "black universities", namely University of Zululand, University of the Western Cape, University of the North, University of Durban-Westville, and University of Fort Hare. In 1946, UNISA was given a new role as a distance education university, and today it offers certificate, diploma, and degree courses up to doctoral level.
In January 2004, UNISA merged with Technikon Southern Africa (Technikon SA, a polytechnic) and incorporated the distance education component of Vista University (VUDEC). The combined institution retained the name University of South Africa. It is now organised by college and by school; see below.
Campus
Location Unisa's Muckleneuk Campus is located in Pretoria and is a major landmark of the capital city. It was in 1972 that Unisa moved into its new home on Muckleneuk Ridge having vacated the old quarters in central Pretoria. The complex of buildings was designed by Bryan Sandrock Architects in the 1960s and expresses an international style characterised by monumental proportions and engineering feats like the cantilevered structures. The most striking feature is the long projection from the brow of the hill, supported by a giant steel girder resting on a massive column.
Also in Pretoria is the Sunnyside campus, the main area of student activity. The Florida campus in Johannesburg is Unisa's science campus. The College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and some departments of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology is housed here. The science campus contains 12 buildings, a library, two auditoriums and a large study area. It also includes a horticultural centre and a multipurpose research and training facility designed to meet the education and research needs of students in a range of programmes including agriculture, ornamental horticulture and nature conservation. Aside from in-person campuses, the University of South Africa also offers correspondence learning, extending their institution beyond brick-and-mortar locations.
The university has seven regional centres in South Africa, servicing students in all nine provinces. These are:
Eastern Cape (East London, Mthatha, Port Elizabeth) Free State (Bloemfontein, Kroonstad) Gauteng (Ekurhuleni, Florida, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Vaal Triangle) Kwazulu-Natal (Durban, Newcastle, Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay, Wild Coast Region) Limpopo Province (Giyani, Makhado, Polokwane) Northern Cape (Kimberley) North West (Mafikeng, Potchefstroom, Rustenburg) Mpumalanga (Middelburg, Nelspruit) Western Cape (Cape Town, George)
Students and staff
According to data extracted from the final audited Higher Education Management information system (HEMIS) submissions to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), Unisa had 355,240 students enrolled in 2013 from South Africa, Africa, and other international states. The largest portion of these students are South African, being 91.4% (324,607) of the sum of the student enrollments. The College of Economic and Management sciences (CEMS) is the largest of the eight colleges, with 26.7% (94,972) of the total student enrollments.
According to the same HEMIS submission, UNISA had 5,575 staff members in 2013. The staff complement consisted of 3,261 females (55.7%) and 2,593 (44.3%) males. 2011 figures from the Department of Institutional Statistics and Analysis (DISA) at the university show that the majority of the staff employed are non-professional administrative staff, being 56.8% (3,164). The number of institutional/research professionals are 33.2% (1,846) of the sum of the staff employed. Therefore, it is imperative for editors to note unverified notes here,<now everyone is editing>
Academic community
As one of the world's mega universities, Unisa presents academic offerings associated with both technological and traditional universities. These include, but are not limited to, a combination of career-orientated courses usually associated with a university of technology, and formative academic programmes typically linked to a traditional university.
College of Accounting Sciences College of Agricultural and Environmental sciences College of Education College of Economic and Management sciences College of Graduate Studies College of Human sciences College of Law College of Science, Engineering and Technology Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL)
In addition to the eight colleges and SBL, UNISA has numerous bureaus, centres, institutes, museums and units supporting academic development and research.
The qualifications offered by the College of Science, Engineering and Technology for the field of engineering are intended for technician and technologist training rather than as the academic component for admission to the engineering profession. The programs are therefore aligned with Dublin (Technician) & Sydney (Technologist) Accords. Graduates from the university in these programmes cannot register with the as a Professional Engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa. The university has introduced a Bachelor of Engineering Technology Honours being a Level 8 qualification (on the National Qualification Framework). This is not recognized for admission as a Professional Engineer and is a bridging mechanism for further studies for technologists and technicians.
South Africa has an extreme skills shortage in respect of engineering and allied vocations.
Ranking
In 2015, the University of South Africa was ranked the 6th best university in South Africa by the Times Higher Education. This makes the university the 6th best university in Africa, out of 30.
UNISA Times Higher Education Ranking 2016 to 2024YearWorld Rank20241001–120020231001–12002022801–100020211001+20201001+20191001+2018801–10002017801+2016601–800
Education at UNISA
Accreditation
UNISA received a royal charter in 1877. It currently operates under the Statute of the University of South Africa issued in terms of the Higher Education Act (No. 101 of 1997), and is accredited by the South African Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education (CHE). Its qualifications (including those of the SBL) are registered with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).
International accreditation of UNISA's qualifications
UNISA is inter alia listed in the following publications: International handbook of universities published by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and officially verified by the International Association of Universities.
In other cases the publication of an institution's name in specific authoritative publications forms the basis of accreditation. Students must however inquire from the specific foreign country/university whether UNISA's qualifications are accredited/recognized.
Internationally, UNISA is listed in the Commonwealth Universities Handbook of 1999 and also in the International Handbook of Universities of 1998. It is actually listed as Member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU 2018).
The qualifications offered by the College of Science, Engineering and Technology are also accredited internationally through the accreditation done by the Engineering Council of South Africa under the Dublin and Sydney Accords.
Entrance requirements
Students need a school-leaving qualification that would entitle them to enter a university or college in their own country. The majority of applications are now processed online. Applicants must meet the requirements for the course they wish to study.
The university has introduced new rules on entrance requirements since 2014, this outright rejects TVET College graduates. Previously these students were allowed to complete bridge subjects and even Higher Certificates before going towards the Diploma and National Diploma. Even completing the National Senior Certificate (Vocational) Level 4 will not be accepted without further education. Universities South Africa argue the subjects from the school curriculum are more "significant in-depth" than the N3 subjects. The university is therefore likely the only university with this rule. University of South Africa refers these students to consider other universities and colleges.
Distance education at UNISA
UNISA is renowned for its versatile teaching approaches, providing online and distance courses and high-quality education. Since its establishment, UNISA has proposed the concept of "learner-centered" distance open education. Over the past century and a half, UNISA has continuously provided high-quality, efficiency-driven tools for students and teachers, for example, providing data services for students and academic personnel to access UNISA's virtual education environment.
UNISA has seized the opportunities of digital transformation, facilitated high scientific research output, and ensured more efficient course implementation through multiple and strategic partnerships of the years to enhance and innovate open and distance learning experience across the world. Notable among these partnerships is the Times Higher Education – University of South Africa on University Impact Forum: Quality Education by hosting higher education leaders to develop quality education in Africa to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Quality Education. Higher education Africa is hindered by chronic lack of investment, an unsustainable policy environment, competition from outside Africa for academic talent, international conflicts and a colonial legacy that has created multiple socio-economic challenges that higher education must respond to.
Disciplinary action